Marys Another Cinderella Story
by CauseImFearless
Summary: Mary lives as a slave in Dominique's household. One day, she runs into Nate, and suddenly he's everywhere she goes!Then it's the ball and now she's the only thing on his mind. Is he her prince charming? Camp rock and cinderella story crossover!
1. Chapter 1

**My first fanfiction! Please enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Mary

"Let me out guys! Come on, please!" I shouted as I banged on the door. I could hear Bianca and Breah snickering on the other side. "It's not funny!" I shouted. Bianca opened the door and glared at me. She threw in a whole basket of clothes and flashed her trademark evil grin.

I was so tempted to roll my eyes. "While your hanging out in the laundry room," Bianca started and Breah interrupted to taunt me, "Yeah, nerd," Bianca hit her hard. "Hello, my turn to taunt? Anyway, wash that will you?" I pushed the clothes away and ran to the door. Bianca smirked and slammed the door in my face.

I turned to see the clock. Ugh, it was going to be another two hours until they would let me out to make dinner.

"There will be no dinner for you tonight, Mary," Dominique said as she chewed nosily on her food. "Wait, what?" I asked as I froze midway through filling her glass.

"You heard me. I didn't adopt you so that you could go slacking off in the laundry room all day. Now scat, you're taking all my fresh air," Dominique waved her hand in the air and turned her attention to Bianca and Breah, who were in the middle of pulling out each others' hair. I hurried away and into the kitchen, feeling tears of fury prick at my eyes.

I was so sick of this! I was still Dominique's stepdaughter wasn't I? I threw the water into the sink angrily and wiped furiously at my eyes. She wasn't worth the tears. My stomach grumbled and I clutched at it miserably. I had gastritis and Dominique knew— that's why she asked me to skip dinner.

"I miss you dad," I whispered. I heard Dominique laugh from the other room and Breah squeal, "Oh my god! Connect Three is coming here! To our school!" Connect 3? Weren't they the super popular boy band?

I rolled my eyes. It didn't concern me anyway; I just wanted to focus on staying alive while Dominique was here. I untied my apron and left the house, trudging across the newly cut grass—Dominique made me mow it this morning—to my room.

Actually, it was a garden shed. Dominique decided I wasn't good enough to sleep in the same house so she planted me there. At that time it was totally empty and full of spiderwebs and… large, extremely big spiders.

I opened the door and stepped inside. It had been a year since I moved in here. Thank god for Mitchie. She had been my best friend for forever, and she was the first person to see that Dominique was no good, the minute my dad brought her home from his first date. Mitchie was sleeping over and she told me that judging from the way Dominique looked at me, she was pure evil.

When I told Mitchie I was kicked out of my room, (which was currently the twins' workout room) she was so angry she said she was going to call the police. Of course, I told her not to but asked her if she could lend me some paint. So she came over, and Mitchie, being extremely brave, cleaned out all the spider related stuff and helped me paint my room.

She got her parents to bring out white curtains and a bedside table for me. Dominique was human enough to give me a bed so I already had that. And the rest of the room was filled up with my old stuff when dad was still around.

Plus, my laptop that Mitchie secretly got me for last Christmas. I plopped down on my bed and sighed, ignoring the rumbling from my stomach. I looked at my bedside table and saw eleven library books stacked up with a pink fluorescent note taped to the top book.

_Return these tomorrow, on your __own._

"Ugh!" I groaned. The buzzer in my room rang. "Time for my foot massage, Mary," Dominique called. I took my pillow and covered my face. Tomorrow was going to be another _long _day.

**So how was it? I know it's boring but it gets more exciting!**

**Preview of next chapt:**

"**Ouch!" I shouted and looked up to see who had run into me. And a freckled face clouded with brown hair and hazel eyes stared back into my eyes. I felt a jolt of electricity shock through me. I wondered if he felt it too. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! First I want to say thank you to ****Wesfanemt333 for telling me I put the story under a Cinderella story category. I meant to put it under another Cinderella story, but I was so exhausted yesterday I totally forgot there was such a thing (which is weird since my fic is about another Cinderella story) and put it under the wrong category. I can be such a doofus sometimes! Anyway, please enjoy this second chapter!**

Chapter 2: Paparazzi and Nate?!

I groaned as I walked down the sidewalk, my brown hair flying behind me as gusts of wind blew along the road. I juggled the eleven library books with difficulty, cursing myself for breaking my bag just a week ago.

I hated being clumsy. It was just so… inconvenient. I nodded at the shop owners as I walked by. They all knew me and I knew them. I was, 'Mary, the little girl that lives down the block,' and I liked it that way.

"Do you need help, Mary?" Mrs. Winderly, the flower shop owner called. "No thank you, Mrs. Winderly. I think I'm fine. Bianca and Breah wanted me to bring them to the library myself." I rebalanced the books and almost tripped over my own feet. "Dang it," I muttered. Sometimes I wished I could trade my clumsiness with someone else for a day. Or at least right now.

The books were stable again and I sighed. Today was going to be a record. So far I had only returned nine books to the library at a go, and that was with a bag. Today I was returning eleven books, and with no bag.

Suddenly, I heard a voice shout "Watch out!" I turned my head around to see if the voice was coming from behind me but apparently I should have been watching out for what was coming in front of me.

I felt two strong hands grip mine and suddenly I was falling to the sidewalk. The books flew everywhere and knocked me very, very hard as I fell. "Ouch!" I shouted and looked up to see who had run into me.

And a freckled face clouded with brown hair and hazel eyes stared back at mine. "I… am so sorry!" The boy apologized as he picked up my books, glancing nervously around his shoulder. I felt a jolt of electricity shock through me. I wondered if he felt it too.

I stared at him. He seemed uncannily familiar. I moved slowly, trying to remember where I had seen his face. "Oh… it's fine. Really."

When I had picked up some books he offered me a hand and helped me stand up. I tried to stack up the books again but it didn't work too well this time. The boy continued to glance nervously behind his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I took the remainder of the books from his hands. He looked so familiar it was driving me nuts. His head snapped back to mine. "Yeah… yeah I am."

"You don't look it," I said skeptically.

Suddenly, the street was ringing with squeals and cries. "Nate! Nate! Nate!" I leaned around him and saw a big group of girls start running towards us, some even spilling onto the streets.

"Oh no," He muttered. "They found me!" I raised an eyebrow. Nate seemed awkwardly familiar as well. "Who found you?" Well, that was a stupid question. It was obviously those girls, who were getting extremely close to us.

I clutched my books tightly, praying that I would not get run over by the crazy mob. The boy, I mean Nate, seemed more scared than I was. "They've seen you too, this is bad…bad…" He shook his head. Me? I didn't do anything wrong, did I? What did he mean, 'they've seen _me' _?

He turned back to me. "Put those books down." I clutched them even harder. "Why?" His browns eyes burned into mine. "Please," He pleaded. I loosened my grip. The girls were getting _extremely _close. I would have expected them to have already reached us but…

I studied Nate. He was panting pretty heavily. I guessed that he had been running away from them for quite a while. I looked into the flower shop and quickly set the books down and shoved them underneath a table.

"Mrs. Winderly, can I—"

But Nate had already grabbed my hand and was running. "Mrs. Winderly, I'm leaving my books at your shop!" I shouted as Nate pulled me away. He ran down the sidewalk and turned back to the park.

"What's going on," I shouted at him as I ran. "Crazy fans, and paparazzi," he said as I tried to catch up with him. "This way," he yanked me into the park courtyard. "Fans… paparazzi? Who _are _you," He hesitated for a moment and didn't reply.

We stopped running and stood in the empty open air courtyard, hearing the screams get louder and louder. Fans were really very scary.

"Do you know where you're going?" I panted. He obviously didn't seem like he knew where he was. "I think so…" He gasped and pulled my hand towards the trees. "No you don't!" I pulled on his hand, which was still holding onto mine. "What?"

"Follow… me," I grunted as I struggled to pull him. "I… know… this… place better than you!" The mob suddenly appeared and started running right at us.

They were so close that I could hear distinct voices shrieking—at me—'who is she' or 'she's with Nate!' or even 'I hate her!'."Hurry," Nate breathed. I dragged him to the middle of the park and sure enough, there was a big maze that grew right in the center of it all. I grinned and ran towards it. "We'll get lost!" Nate shouted.

"No we won't Nate!" I laughed back at him as I pulled him into the greenery. And then we were both running, the air whipping our hair everywhere. And for the first time in as long a time I could remember, I felt free.

I listened to the steady beat of our feet running on the cobbled floor, the chorus of screaming girls and the uneven panting of Nate behind me. And his laugh that rang through the air like wind chimes, blending into mine. For a brief moment, I closed my eyes as I ran, listening to the music that I wanted never to end.

I could hear him laughing as I pulled him along and I joined him when we heard the distressed cries of the girls calling 'Nate!' outside the maze.

I suspected that they would run in, after all they seemed like they were hardcore fans of him. And then I heard heavy footsteps and the girls were following us. I grasped Nate's hand even harder and sprinted.

But the strange thing was, these hedges didn't have any flowers or anything except leaves, and the maze that I remembered had gorgeous flowers growing in the bushes. Suddenly, the place that we were running didn't seem too familiar to me.

And then we were at a dead end.

I could hear the screams and footsteps coming closer.

"Oh no—I am so sorry Nate… I thought we were in the park near my house… I am so sorry," I choked out the words as I struggled for breath. Nate patted my back gently. "It's okay… it's okay we'll just… they won't find us… I don't think," And then I heard the footsteps a few lanes away.

We stared at each other in horror.

"Uh oh." I muttered.

**So how was it? I know it wasn't that good, but please, review the story! I would love feedback! I got just one review and I went CRAZY, I think my mom almost sent me to an asylum! Tell me more of what you wanna see! More descriptions… more mary and nate… more mitchie? Haha. Next chapter will be out soon! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Anyway, im so sad, there's only one review ): please do review, it makes me wonder why people put the story on alerts but wont review. Im kind of tempted to do the, no more next chapter unless I get five reviews, but I hate it when people do that. So I wont… yet (: so please review!**

Chapter 3

Nate pulled me behind him and spread out his arms wide, like he was a large protecting shield. "Cover your face with your hair," I nodded dumbly and stared at my feet, letting my hair fall like a blanket. "What's going on Nate, the people look scary, but they don't seem hazardous," I started.

I could feel Nate tense up in front of me. "It isn't the girls you should be afraid of, it's the paparazzi. Once they see you with me… they'll follow you everywhere, watch your every movement… you'll be harassed," I thought back to Dominique and the evil twins. Cameras would follow me everywhere… and see the life I lived. They might even take me away once it leaked out that Dominique was… well locking me up in a hole like that.

I looked up abruptly and our noses brushed. I could feel my cheeks burn and I dropped my head again. "Sorry…"

"Its… it's fine," he stuttered. "Hey, how high are these hedges?" Nate had dropped his arms and was trying to reach the top of the hedge with his hands. "Medium high?" I guessed shrugging my shoulders.

His brown eyes seemed to light up for a moment and I raised my eyebrow. Nate chuckled. "You can't go under, but you _can _go over," I paused for a moment, digesting what he just said. "Oh no, no, no, no," I said, backing away from him. "You can't be thinking of _throwing _meover! I have a fear of heights!" I shouted, my voice cracking on the last word.

Nate's brown eyes searched mine again, and the familiar jolt of energy washed over me like a huge tsunami. I contemplated for a moment, standing with my hands on my hips and staring Nate down. He didn't seem to mind that I was glaring at him… And he wasn't that small built either.

"Don't drop me okay," I stuttered, trying not to show him I was afraid. I bent down and slid off my converse shoes. Nate studied them with his eyes. He was scrutinizing all the holes my shoes had, and all the areas where I had patched it up with raw fabric. "Don't ask," I started and turned around to throw my shoes over the hedge.

"Sure you'll be okay," I asked. For a moment I couldn't believe I was showing concern for a total stranger. Well, he wasn't a _total _stranger; there was something about him that was oddly familiar. "I'll be fine," he assured me.

I smiled at him one last time before he bent down and put his hands together, like a platform. I grabbed onto his shoulders, still sore about my fear of heights, and jumped onto his hands. I was trembling and I could hear Nate chuckle from below.

"Ha ha," I mimicked as I leaned over him to graze the top of the hedge. Nate grunted," Ready, one, two, three!" Wait—what was he doing? I tried to scream in protest but Nate had already thrust his arms up into the air and flipped me over to the other side.

I felt like I was flying, like I could see the world. But then I came crashing down and landed hard on my butt. "Ugh…" I groaned. "Are you okay?" I scrambled up to a standing position and turned to the hedge, seeing Nate's face search mine through the leaves.

He stuck his hands in and pulled the twigs to a side, so that it was like we were talking through a window. "Should be," I said. "You should go Nate."

Nate nodded. "I should. Hey… Thanks. It was… fun," He laughed and I giggled. "No problem, good luck," I picked up my converse shoes, waved a final goodbye to him and turned to leave. But as I was leaving, Nate stretched his hand and wrapped his arms around my wrist.

"Wait!" A small smile seemed to creep up on my face. I spun around slowly. "What's your name?" Oh… that's all he wanted. I could feel the smile disappear. "It's Ma—"

"Nate! AHHH!" a bunch of loud voices screamed. For a moment our eyes locked, mine filled with confusion, Nate's with frustration and… sadness? He pulled his arm back through the hedge and I couldn't see him anymore.

I sighed. Well, he was popular and I was a maid cum slave to Dominique. Cinderella stories don't happen in real life, it was obvious that Nate only wanted my name in a moment of curiosity. I trudged back slowly to 's shop and stopped short.

The library books were gone. I dropped to my knees and searched, not caring that I was wearing dark jeans that would be stained with dust when I got up. "No!" I muttered to myself angrily.

Dominifreak was going to freak.

**AHH. I know the chapter isn't fantastic, in fact I don't really like it. At all. But ive been busy and I havnt had time to rewrite. Review k?**

**Love  
causeimfearless **


	4. Chapter 4

**New Chapter! And Two new reviews… plus… two people put my story on alert! I love people who put reviews. This is the first story ive written with teenage drama so please don't be mad if this isn't dramatic enough (as in the story not this chapter) anyway im gonna stop babbling but first … thanks to **711slurpeerocks **and **SyiRahzz-. **Thanks for reviewing! Totally awesome people right there (: enjoy!**

Chapter 4: UGH!

I walked slowly home, not wanting to face Dominique. I tried to picture all the times when I had done something wrong and Dominique punished me. Once, she had locked me in my room for two whole days, it was a total nightmare. I only went out at night, because Mitchie became worried and came to rush me out.

It was another few blocks to the house. I consciously ran my fingers along the area of my arm where Nate had touched. It felt warm and… something else that I couldn't explain. I had never felt that feeling before.

And the sparks that went on inside of me like fireworks, so strange and new. But I dismissed it as some weird puberty hormone thing. But I still couldn't help wondering, did Nate feel it too? I stared at my hand, remembering his strong grip on mine when we ran.

And how all the sounds were like a lullaby to me. They kept replaying in my head, the sound of our running, the way our laughs rang through the air. I grinned and tried to hide it as I strode across the driveway and made for my room.

"Almost there…" I muttered encouragingly to myself as I reached for the door.

"Mary!" Dominique called me from where she stood on the front steps, her blonde hair piled ridiculously high on her head. She tried to pose fashionably in her long sparkly pink dress that was covered in large oversized pearls that ended with a pile of purple ribbons at her feet.

I grimaced and tried to wipe the pained expression from my face. "Mary! Get over here!" she called, smiling at a few neighbors that jogged by. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I ran to where she was. "Dominique," I nodded my head politely.

She raised her chin and stared down at me, fluttering her heavily made up eyelids. I stared at the ground, a pained expression on my face. Slowly, I curtsied. Dominique chuckled to herself. "Good girl. Now, did you return the books?"

I could feel my face flush a deep red. "Oh, about that…" I fiddled with my hair. "Someone… stole… well… I mean… I lost them," I started, not daring to look up. I could almost imagine the crinkles at the end of her eyes as she narrowed them to glare at me.

"You what?" She shrieked. "You insolent brat! You disgusting ingrate! No more allowance for six months! I do not want you stepping into this house for the next three days! Stay in your room! If I see your face…" She raised a perfectly manicured hand and slapped it square across my face.

I could feel the place where she touched tingle, but not the same as the way I felt when Nate touched me. My cheek felt like it was swollen, and like needles were pricking at my skin. "Out!" she ordered.

I nodded numbly and turned to leave, not even bothering to keep my composure. Bitter tears of pain rolled down my burning cheeks as I ran to my room, slamming the door close behind me. I collapsed on my bed and cried into my comforter, letting out all of my fury I had kept pent up inside of me for as long as I could remember.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," I shouted angrily into my pillow. I was tired of always being the servant, the 'charity case' the 'maid' for the evil twins. I wanted a life of my own where I was always free. I tried to imagine what it felt like when Dad was around, but that was too long ago, I couldn't remember.

Maybe when he was around, I felt tingly inside too. The way I felt when I was with Nate today. Which would explain why I wouldn't recognize the feeling, I simply couldn't remember feeling that way before. I sniffed and picked up my cell phone, dialing the first person that came to mind.

"Mitchie?" I croaked. The static was horrible and I couldn't hear her except for a few words. "Wait, bad static," I jumped out of the bed and went to stand by the window, leaning out and breathing in the evening air.

"Better?" I asked. "Yeah," I smiled. It was always so nice to hear Mitchie. "What's going on, Mary? Are you okay? Did she hurt you? Mary?" Mitchie bombarded me with questions. I waited patiently for her to stop and waited a moment for me to think of a reply to her answers.

"I'm grounded for three days, no allowance, I'm physically fine I guess, she slapped me and yes, I'm here." I could hear Mitchie shout something inconceivable over the phone, probably some promised to write a nasty song about Dominique.

"I'm coming over," Mitchie decided. "No! Don't, Dominique would kill me!" Mitchie scoffed. "She's evil Mary, but she won't _kill _you… at least I don't think she will." I wrinkled my nose trying to imagine Dominique wielding a big kitchen chopper. I couldn't imagine it— Dominique practically didn't want to do anything that might pose a danger to her manicures.

Mitchie hung up before I could say anything. I groaned and threw my cell phone on the bed. I was right, today _was _a long day.

**Yup! This chapter basically just talks about Dominiques evilness. So… the next chapter introduces mitchie and… someone else! Gimme time! I got a drama scene taking shape in my head. Did I mention I love people who review?**

**Love  
causeimfearless **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey! So so sorry there's like barely any drama (slaps self on head) but im working on it! Please give me time and don't get bored of the story! Im trying to introduce the characters… ugh. Anyway more awesomely awesome people… thank you to **711slurpeerocks! **Who reviewed for the second time! –clap clap- but as you can see, I only got one review :( your making me sad here people! Oh yes and thank you very much to **NANI hanani03‏ **who is totally awesome for****the story to her favs and me as her fav author! You rock!**

Chapter 5: Tami and Mitchie

I glanced at the clock. 11.40 AM. Mitchie would be here in another five minutes or so. I sighed and sat down on the carpeted floor of the bedroom and drummed my fingers impatiently on my knee. I dropped my head in my hands, wondering to myself what I should do while I waited.

Oh yes, the album! I leaned over and thrust my hand in between my bed mattress, finally found what I was looking for and yanked it out, a look of triumph on my face. I smiled at the familiar worn orange album that I had kept since I was twelve.

I fingered the edges, smiling to myself before turning the cover over. I could feel hot tears form as I looked at each picture. Most of them were my dad and I, standing in the rain, or running around a playground.

And some… would have my mom. She was so pretty, with sweeping brown hair that flowed in the wind, her deep hazel eyes searching and mysterious. I touched my face, wondering whether there was some of her there.

"Don't worry, Mary. You're just as pretty as her," A voice whispered in my ear. I jumped up and ran for the door, standing still for a moment before I realized it was Mitchie. "Mitchie," I breathed angrily over her restrained giggles. I hadn't even realized she came in.

I spun around to see Mitchie clad in what she called her 'spy outfit'. She wore a tight fitting black t-shirt and a dark pair of jeans complete with heavy mascara. Standing behind her was… Tami? I jumped up and down excitedly, biting my lip to keep from screaming.

Tami and Mitchie jumped with me in silence and after a while we all broke into a fit of giggles that we muffled by burying our faces in my bed. When I had finally calmed down, I sat up and enveloped Tami in a big hug, pulling away to examine her.

She had her hair straightened now, and it brushed her shoulders. She had gotten rid of her tacky glasses and wore contacts. She was also decked out in a spy outfit, just like Mitchie.

"Tami!" I squealed. Tami had actually gone to California with her dad, who was an agent. It was kind of like a 'bring your kid to work day' thing, except Tami had gone half the year. "Mary!" she squealed back and we hugged again.

"Aren't you supposed to be in California," I asked when we pulled apart.

"Ugh, I wish. My dad decided it was time for me to buckle down with the whole school thing and sent me back. He's here too. Guess who's trying to get him as their agent?" Tami asked, her perfectly shaped eyebrows rising.

"Domifreak!" Mitchie cut in, then shot an apologetic look at Tami when she glared at her. I gaped at both of them. "What?" So Dominique was still trying to make a comeback. Her albums pretty much never sold and now she was living off her money that she saved when she was slightly more popular.

Tami rolled her eyes as she munched on a chip, Mitchie had brought over tons of food. "I know! This is so whacked, my dad _actually_ is going to meet up with her. He wants to be an agent of a comeback celeb or something—if that's remotely possible for domifreak anyway," She drawled.

I nodded. That was so Dominique, thinking she had a chance.

"Anyway… guess what?" Mitchie said, bouncing up and down on my bed. "Woah, there Sherlock!" Mitchie stopped bouncing and glared at me. I smiled. Tami and I had always called her Sherlock since the time she went snooping around Dominiques bedroom, convinced that Dominique was holding some evil party down there or something.

"Mary you did not just—"

"Quiet! Dominique's going to hear," I warned as I leaned over to my bedside lamp and turned the light lower. Mitchie groaned. "You are so paranoid, Mary. Besides, Tami is here and right now, to Dominique anyway, Tami is the daughter of a gold mine. We won't get in trouble."

Tami picked up a pillow and threw it at Mitchie playfully. "Ow! Ugh, Tami you need to grow up!" I cocked my head in Tami's direction and she was grinning. Tami was turning nineteen this year… she was Mitchie and my senior by four years. We only met because Tami lived next door.

I turned my attention back to Mitchie, who was holding a full-fledged pillow fight. "Woah woah woah!" I raised my hands in between them. "Domifreak has ears people," I reminded. "Anyway, what were you saying Mitchie?" Her eyes lit up.

"Shane's coming to town! As in town as in here! As in where we live!" She gushed. This time I was the one that threw a pillow at her. "Slow down!"

Mitchie ignored me. "Actually, not just Shane… but the whole of Connect Three is coming! Shane texted me yesterday to say he missed me and couldn't wait to visit," she boasted as she held out her cell phone for us to see.

"No duh, Sherlock. The whole town knows Connect Three is coming, some idiot fan leaked the news. But it's nice Shane texted you. Cause he misses you and stuff…" Tami said. I clasped hands with her and pretended to be Mitchie while Tami pretended to be Shane.

"I missed you so much, Mitchie," Tami giggled, trying to speak in a low voice.

"Oh Shane… you're the best person in the world," I squealed and Tami and I both fell on the pillows laughing.

"Haha." Mitchie frowned. "But hey, we could triple date."

We sat back up again. "Cool!" Tami exclaimed.

"Ugh no thanks, Sherlock. Remember Domifreak? No way will she let me go out with a Connect Three member, she'll force one of the evil twins on them first. And we couldn't even triple date with them, we haven't even met them yet," I said.

"Always the party pooper," Tami and Mitchie teased. "Shut up," I said and threw another pillow at the both of them.

"But I'm serious! Look, Nate could date you, you are definitely his type. He's sixteen by the way, one year older than you. And Jason could date Tami! He would _love _her," Mitchie concluded. Tami laughed and grabbed another chip. "Did you spent all the time at Camp Rock observing guys or playing music?" she joked.

They started a pillow fight next to me but I ignored them. I could feel my heart beating extremely fast and my cheeks flush. And that electric feeling I felt… it was back. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Mitchie," I started as I turned to them. "Did you say Nate?"

**Haha :3 anyway, review please! I LOVE them! **

**Did I mention I love reviews and ESPECIALLY the people who do?**

**Haha**

**Love  
Causeimfearless 3**


	6. Chapter 6

**SQUEAL! I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! AHHH! I went away for an hour and when I came back I got such a lovely surprise I jumped up and kicked my luggage over and now I have to repack BUT WHO CARES! HECK IVE REPACK TEN THOUSAND TIMES FOR YOU GUYS! Anyway, heads up I'll be gone for two days but im already working on an extremely long chapter 7 to upload when I come back! SO THANK YOU TO THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT TOTALLY MADE MY DAY: laughitup thank you so much for adding the story to your favs and putting it on alert. Live-in-dreamland1 thank you for adding me as fav author, putting the story on alert and favs and putting me on author alerts (you're my first!) and reviewing… twice. YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME. **

**So I decided to upload a chapter I wrote yesterday that I was planning to upload when I came back, but you all deserve it (: enjoy!**

Chapter 6: Daydreaming

Nte's POV

"Ow, man that hurt!" I shouted as I rubbed my head. Jason turned around, the birdhouse in his hand flipping with him and nearly hitting Shane. "Oh sorry man. I said excuse me and I thought you would move," he apologized.

"Yeah yeah" I groaned as I sat down on the couch. "Dude you've been so out of it," Shane complained as he flipped through the TV channels. Jason sat down next to him, still holding on to his bright red birdhouse.

"Yeah man you've been like," he blinked for a moment and stared into space. "Like that!" Shane whacked him on the head before returning to the TV. "Jason you are so weird," Jason shrugged and stood up, heading for the backyard. "Hey I'm going to go set my birdhouse up! Anyone want to come?" Shane and I shook our heads.

"Suit yourselves," Jason grumbled as he left. I could hear him shouting "here pretty birdies!" outside. I rolled my eyes and tried to focus my attention on the TV screen. I couldn't keep concentrated on it for long, I felt my mind began to wander back to the girl I had met this afternoon.

I smiled to myself thinking of how she had grabbed my arm and pulled me through the maze. Her laugh was so smooth and musical, like a soft melody that rang in my ears. I balled my right hand into a fist, trying to imagine the feel of her skin again.

And her eyes. They were so… deep… I could stare in those eyes and never want to come back to reality again. I grinned stupidly. "Nate? Nate, dude wake up!" Shane threw the TV remote at me and I jumped. "What was that for?" I asked angrily. Shane shrugged. "You were daydreaming again."

"I was?" I hadn't realized I had blanked out. Shane turned to me. "What happened this morning? You've been dazed a lot since you came back." I shrugged. "It's nothing. Probably lack of sleep or something." Shane chuckled. "Dude I _know _you. It can't be just lack of sleep."

I nodded then sighed. One of the downsides of living with your best friends was that you could never lie and get away with it. Jason and Shane knew me too well to know when I was telling the truth, and when I wasn't.

"It's a girl," I admitted sheepishly. Shane leaned forward eagerly. "A girl? When'd you meet her?" I crossed my arms. It was so Shane to be nosy. "This morning…" then I continued to tell him about my mystery girl, I was starting to get too descriptive and into the story that Shane had to lift up his hand to stop me.

When I was done, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Hah! Dude that is just like what happened to me and Mitchie. Don't worry it'll all be fine. I got the girl remember? You will too," He encouraged me and slapped my back.

If only it was that easy to find her. I didn't even know her name. But… I guess Shane had it worse. He hadn't even _seen_ his mystery girl. I had. I frowned and leaned back, wondering whether she would be attending WestWater School.

Jason came stomping in, his red birdhouse still in his hand. "No birdies today…" he muttered as he plopped himself on the sofa. "oh yeah," Shane turned off the TV and snapped his fingers.

"Some agent called us wondering if we would like to do a duet with this lady called Dominique." "Dominique?" Jason wondered. "Never heard of her."

"It's a comeback thing," he explained. "She's coming over to our house tomorrow night, after school." I groaned. I hated these kinds of things. People liked to take advantage of us, and this seemed like a I'm-using-connect-three plan. I mean,_ she_ was the one that wanted to do a duet, but she was coming to _our _house to discuss instead.

So much trouble. We were probably going to have to order a lot of nice food tomorrow.

I dropped my head in my hands, frustrated. I thought we had moved back to relax and take a break from all the touring. Plus, Shane wanted to meet Mitchie. All the time on tour she was the only thing he talked about. I mean, sure Jason and I liked her, but after a while it got irritating that Shane was so obsessed.

With all this new work, the crazy mob of fans that always seems to chase me down and helping Jason with his birdhouse…

How was I ever going to find my mystery girl?

**This gets boring I know but I want you to know how nate feels. The next chapt is school time! –drammaa- and Im still bouncing with excitement!**

**I would love more people to review. You are ALL AWESOME and I LOVE people who review (:**

**See you guys in two days with a (hopefully) uber long chapt!**

**Love & love  
Causeimfearless**


	7. Chapter 7

**IIMMMM BACCK! And DANG! I missed Fanfiction the whole time! Anyway, while I was away I dreamt of a billion reviews and story alerts and all that jazz flooding my inbox. Of course that didn't actually happen but anyway thanks to the people that made me smile after a long trip home: elisabeth2me for favstory-ing, live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (thanks for reviewing so many times!), .X for fav-ing, 711slurpeerocks for reviewing (uhm I don't really understand your review,(sorry!) but you can PM me any questions I'll be glad to answer),horselvr24 for fav-ing, xoxohotsportsxoxo for alerting, tessa411 for alerting and reviewing.**

**These people are possibly the best people ever. Correction: **_**the **_**best people. You guys rocks! Enjoy this chapter! I worked hard on it when I came back to get it up today! **

Chapter 7: Connect Three

"Hurry up Mary!" Bianca and Breah shrieked from their bedrooms. "Coming!" I ran into the laundry room and grabbed two stacks of freshly washed and iron clothing, both of them almost as tall as the eleven library books.

I grunted as I shuffled around the dining table and ran up the stairs, praying to myself that I wouldn't trip on them. I went to Bianca's room first; she was the most impatient of the evil twins.

Her room was possibly seven times larger than mine, with a humongous canopy bed, vanity mirror, closet, TV stand, bathroom, a whole other cupboard devoted to makeup and a cozy looking hammock in the corner of the room. It was the kind of room I would want, except minus all the pink. It was nauseatingly Barbie everywhere.

I tried to curtsy while balancing the clothes. "Which one is mine?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Oh it doesn't matter," she sighed and walked over to me, picking a yellow dress from the bottom of the pile.

The rest of the clothes tumbled to the ground. "Shame on you, Dorkary!" She scolded as she flashed her grin at me. I felt like sticking my tongue out at her but I just squatted down and began to pick up the clothes, hoping that Bianca would be having a bad hair day today.

"Mary!" Breah called from her room across the hall. "Get over here!" I quickly grabbed the pile of clothes and left the room, leaving Bianca staring at the mirror with the dress pressed to her chest.

I stumbled into Breah's bedroom, which was similar to Bianca's except hers was all purple themed. "What did you do?" she goggled at the mess of clothes in my hands. "Sorry… I tripped…" I stuttered.

Breah groaned and picked up a blue dress from the top of the pile, which was similar to what Bianca had picked. "Dork," she sneered at me and slapped her hand down on the pile. "Ah!" I screamed and my hands fell apart under the sudden pressure, the clothes falling down… again.

What was wrong with this family? They could drive the sanest person on the earth insane!

"Clumsy, clumsy, clumsy," Dominique shook her head slightly as she posed at the doorframe. She was wearing… was that a blue tutu? I tried not to stare as I picked up the clothes. "You are ruining their morning!" Dominique complained as she strut into Breah's bedroom.

Breah snickered at me before she left to change. "Sorry… Dominique…" I whispered under my breath, feeling my cheeks flush. Dominique puckered her red lips as she leaned in to check her reflection in the mirror.

"Connect Three are going to be at West Water today, and since the only people they will notice are _my _darlings, they'll need to be dressed exceptionally well. Are you purposely trying to ruin their chances of appearing in their best clothing? Unlike you, they have a sense of fashion. You dress like a dumpster," she looked down at me and stared at my mahogany t-shirt that ended at my knees, my black denim jeans and the grey hoodie tied around my waist.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and curtsied before leaving the room. "Breakfast dearies!" Dominique called before she proceeded to descend the staircase. I tried not to laugh at her nickname for the evil twins before I left the room.

"Oh Mary?" Bianca shouted. "Yeah?"

"Breah and I won't be having breakfast today. You know, carbs… oh wait you wouldn't would you?" She made a point of looking at my stomach and laughed as I ran down the stairs. Mornings really were the worst part of the day.

"Ah!" I cursed under my breath as I tripped on the wet morning grass. Dominique must have turned on the sprinklers this morning. I speed-walked to my bedroom and grabbed my skateboard. I jumped over the fence and made for Tami's large, orange and apparently half-alive truck.

"Morning Mary," Mitchie and Tami chorused when I slid into my seat. "Morning girls," I sang back. "Burrito Monday," Mitchie threw a cold burrito into my lap. "Thanks Mitch." Every morning when Tami came to pick me up, she and Mitchie would bring my breakfast with them. I smiled appreciatively at them as they argued over the usefulness of Tami's car.

"Your car is _dying_," Mitchie complained as the "great pumpkin" wheezed to life. I choked on my burrito as I laughed.

"The great pumpkin is very much still _great_," Tami retorted as she pulled away. "It's probably only lived this long because you called it _great_ pumpkin, Tami get a Mercedes of something!" Mitchie said.

I looked out the window as I chewed on my burrito. I remembered Bianca's crack about not knowing about carbs and suddenly I felt like I didn't have an appetite anymore. I mean, it wasn't like me to care about looks… but I _was_ seeing Nate today, probably.

I sighed and set my burrito back on my lap. I couldn't believe Nate was _the _Nate. _Connect Threes_ Nate. Maybe it was better if I didn't get in too deep. Which I didn't think possible, I considered myself pretty deep in already, if I was worrying about _carbs _because of him_._

"What's wrong Mary?" Tami asked as she turned to me. "Eyes on the road," Mitchie and I reminded her. We laughed a bit but I stopped almost immediately. "Do… do you think I'm fat?" I asked.

Mitchie choked on her drink and spit some on Tami. Tami swerved a bit to the right lane and a bunch of cars honked at her. "Look what you made me do!" She scolded as she rolled down the window, stuck her left hand out and waved, yelling "Sorry!"

"You are so weird Tami." Mitchie and I gawked at her. She shrugged. "Anyway… you are as thin as cardboard Mary! Who told you you were fat?" She asked. I shrugged. "Just a passing thought…"

"Well you aren't fat." Mitchie pitched in. "Dominique has you surviving on like three meals every two days. You _can't_ be fat even if you tried." I rolled my eyes and bit into my burrito. "Anyway… today is the day I see Shane again! I mean… I missed the whole connect three… but Shane's coming!" Mitchie exclaimed.

Tami laughed. "Old news, Sherlock. Anyway, yeah they are. Shane's probably counting the seconds until he sees you," Mitchie bounced up and down in her seat. "Duh!" Then she squealed. I thought I was going to get sick, just thinking of facing Nick today.

"What's wrong?" Mitchie trilled. I leaned away from her, rubbing my ear. I hadn't exactly told them about my day with Nate yet. They didn't know I knew him, and right now I wanted to keep it to myself.

"Anyway… have a nice day," Tami called as Mitchie and I hopped off her truck. Tami waved and turned to drive down the carpark. Our school was WestWaters School, and it was the first school of its kind. It held classes from elementary school all the way to the university that was on the other side of the campus and barred off from us.

Mitchie grinned at me. "This is it." I stared at the group of elementary, middle and high school girls crowded around the front door to the high school building of WestWaters. I gulped. Over the heads of squealing girls I could see a head of bronze curls move. Nate.

"This is it," I choked. I tried to breathe in and breathe out, slowly, knowing I would probably hyperventilate if I became too nervous. "Are you okay?" Mitchie asked me, her concerned eyes searching my face. "Na… Nate…" I smoothed my shirt.

"You're nervous?" Mitchie asked, relief coloring her face—she must have thought I was having another asthma attack. I nodded slowly as I did my mental breathing exercise. I hated lying to Mitchie or Tami but right now I couldn't let them know about Nate. They would definitely make sure we got together… and if Dominique found out… she would lock me up forever.

Mitchie laughed as she dragged me along. "Connect Three is really cool," she gushed as I followed her through the car park. I closed my eyes, trying to remember that electric feeling, maybe it could chase away my butterflies. It didn't work, I still felt nauseas.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea Mitch," I trembled as we reached the throng of girls, their screams as high pitched as a jet. Mitchie laughed. "Shane knows me. We are fine," She tried to reassure me.

I didn't even bother to nod. I could hear songs about makeup and being thin blare behind me and I turned around, finding Bianca and Breah with Tess, the school's 'miss popular' riding in Tess's hot pink convertible.

Mitchie turned around slowly too and I had to squeeze her arm to stop her from lunging straight at the Barbie perfect Tess Tyler. "What… is… she… doing… here," She said through gritted teeth. "She goes to school here Mitch. Calm down. Now is not the time, especially with cameras," I laughed nervously, glancing behind at the flashes from the media crew that surrounded Connect Three.

Tess reached over and stopped the music, swerving around in her seat to smile innocently at us. I managed a weak smile back but Mitchie just growled. "Mitch…" I warned under my breath.

"Two losers looking to pick up a date with Connect Three?" Bianca pouted at us. Breah snorted. "Like they would ever look at two dorkazoids like you… nerd zombies," she stated proudly. And I was surprised, she managed to get out one whole sentence.

"Stop it!" I yelled at them when Mitchie took a few threatening steps closer. "Stop it now!" Tess rolled her eyes and reached over to get Bianca's drink. Mitchie was lifting her fist. I stepped in between her, still facing Tess, my eyes fiery.

"Mitch don't! They're not worth—"In one swift motion, Tess had ripped off the cover of Bianca's 711 drink and thrust it at me. It soaked through my shirt and for a second I was so glad I was wearing a dark purple t-shirt today.

I was frozen from shock, standing in the open cold at the beginning of December, the ice cold coke chilling me to the bone. "What did you just do?" Mitchie yelled as she lunged towards Tess. Suddenly, a bunch of flashes went off as I grabbed Mitchie before she could slap her.

We spun around and there was the media, boy they were having a field day. I could see the headlines now, "Tess Tyler Attacked By Rampaging Connect Three Fan!" For a brief moment I shivered in the light as my eyes swept the crowd.

And then I stopped on the face of Shane Gray, his mouth gaped open as he whispered the word, "Mitchie."

I moved to the person standing next to Shane and found myself staring into familiar deep hazel eyes that were covered slightly by a mess of brown curls.

Oh no. Nate?

**Whew, hopefully that was long enough for you! Do Review! I tried really hard to inject drama here! Please review! I love it when you guys add the story to favs, but just… press that pretty button there too k! It brings you to a fun happiness giving place where you make me smile (:**

**Please Review! **

**Love  
Causeimfearless**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Ugh I have been INCREDIBLY busy it's unimaginable. I was dragging my laptop with me everywhere and plopping myself on the floors writing this chapt the whole day. I'm sorry it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I really have no time to rewrite. Thanks to the people who made me want to sit and type everywhere all day: elisabeth2me for reviewing, live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (can I just say you are totally awesome for being my most constant reviewer!) 711slurpeerocks (you too! totally awesome for being a constant reviewer!) and to answer your question, Shane knows who Mary is, he just doesn't really have a face to put to the name since he's never met Mary. And, as Nate didn't know his 'mystery girls' name, Shane wouldn't have known that Mary was Nates mystery girl. I hope that clears up some questions (: totally rock awesome people up here^^**

**Pleas enjoy this chapter, I was kind of tired but I hope its still up to scratch! **

**Disclaimer: (I forgot to put these in the other chapts) I do not own the characters here of Another Cinderella Story.**

Chapter 8: Drama Drama Drama

Why does it always seem that bad things happen to me and only me? Why was I the only one standing in the freezing cold of December soaked to the skin with coke staring into the eyes of a teenage popstar that had haunted my every thought for the past day?

Oh and not to mention the hoard of obsessed girl fans and media that were there to witness—and capture—the whole thing.

"Can't you just leave Mary alone!" Mitchie cried behind me as she struggled to pull the door of Tess's convertible open. Bianca had locked it and now she was staring at Mitchie, her eyes wide with horror, probably praying that Mitchie wouldn't jump into the car herself.

"Buzz off Torres!" Tess shrieked at her.

"Only when you apologize!" Mitchie shouted back, crossing her arms angrily. I tore my gaze away from Nate's and turned around, wrapping my fingers around Mitchie's arm. "Mitch don't do this, I'm fine," I started, my voice shaking from the cold.

Mitchie growled. "That's what you keep on saying, and that's _exactly _why they keep on doing this to you. Mary, you _have _to stand up to them." I squeezed her arm, my vision blurry with fresh tears.

"Mitchie. Please, don't do this. Please," I pleaded, trying not to seem too desperate in front of the crowd. She sighed and stepped back, glaring at Tess's sneering face. "She is such a—" I squeezed her arm.

"Mitch…" I warned.

"Possum! I was going to say Possum!" I rolled my eyes. Everyone sighed and the atmosphere slip back to the way it was before Tess doused me. The fans started crowding around Connect Three again, and I stood there, staring at Nate as he tried to push past them to get to me.

I felt my cheeks burn and I looked down to stare at my feet, goosebumps running along my arms. I was freezing.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Mitchie said, pulling on my hand. I smiled at her and shook my head. "Go and talk to Shane. He looks like he's suffocating over there," I jerked my head in Shane's direction, his face barely visible above the rest of the girls.

Mitchie was hesitant. "But…"

"Go." I pushed her a little in Shane's direction. If I couldn't meet Nate today, I was going to make sure that Mitchie met Shane. Mitchie nodded slowly, her face brightening when her eyes locked with Shane's.

I smiled at Mitchie's happiness. At least she was getting her Cinderella story all put together. In my life, the pieces just never fit. Mitchie shot me a I'll-meet-you-at-lunch look before she walked over to Shane.

She pushed right through the crowd and fell straight into Shane's arms. Again with the crazy flashes from the media. I felt a pang in my chest. I wanted something just like what they had. But I was happy for them.

I turned away to make for the side entrance to the school, pulling at my shirt that was stuck to my skin. I was too embarrassed anyway to talk to Nate, not after what happened. What would he say? I couldn't even imagine. Besides, I was a maid, no scratch that. I was practically a slave.

And Nate? He had everything and more. He was famous. He would never see anything in me except a girl trying to be more than she was even capable of.

I shivered again and sniffed, more tears started to roll down my cheeks. I had to get cleaned up soon, or I would catch a cold. Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft—softer than velvet even—brush my bare shoulders.

I stopped walking for a moment, my brain temporarily frozen. I breathed in the soft smell of… was that a cinnamon roll and chocolate chip cookies mixed together? Surprisingly, it smelled good. I breathed in one more time before I turned around to face the owner of the jacket.

"Nate?" I asked astonished as I looked up at his beaming face.

"Hey," he whispered back. For a moment I was completely mesmerized. I had never been this close to him before. I was even enveloped in his jacket, his smell surrounding me.

"He… hey," I stuttered back.

We stood there, staring at each other for a while, not knowing what to say. But it wasn't really an awkward silence. It was actually comforting, like our eyes were having the conversations. And between us, I could feel this electrifying connection. I couldn't explain it. It was a lot stronger than it had felt that other day.

A cold gust suddenly blew and I shivered, groaning unconsciously as I shrunk back into the jacket.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a flash, his hands hovering centimeters from my arms, he wasn't quite sure what to do to make me feel better.

I nodded. "So… did you manage to get away from them? The girls… I mean. The other day… you know when we…" I trailed off, breaking our connections as I looked up at the darkening sky.

"Yeah I did. So… I never did get your name." He smiled and another surge of electricity washed over me. I grinned back, soaking in the moment.

I tried to memorize his face as he smiled at me. The way his hair moved in the wind, the long lashes of his eyes. The colour of his irises, deep and hazel and mysterious. It was like a never ending tunnel. The length of his jaw, the way his lips moved when he spoke.

"You never did get my name," I repeated stupidly, then quickly tried to make it sounds like I was teasing him. He smiled at me again, and this time I tried to stay focused.

"And what would you do to get my name?" I asked teasingly.

He cocked his head to the side, pretending to think very hard as he scrunched his eyebrows together. "That is a very good question."

"It is," I agreed impishly, feeling myself relax more and more in his comforting presence.

"I'll just expose you as a big fat meanie to the paparazzi that has been stalking me since I moved here." He grinned at me as he raised one eyebrow.

I laughed and punched his arm lightly. Oh no, was that too flirty? Or too guyish? I blanked out for a moment, wondering whether Nate liked girls that were all about fashion or looks, or girls that were into sports, or girls that washed toilets during the weekend.

"So what's your name, miss?" Nate asked again, trying to fake a British accent as he did a little bow for me. I giggled at how nerdy he liked to act—that was totally unexpected.

"It's—"

"Come here you cutie!" I heard Tess's voice squeal next to my ear and suddenly I was staring at empty space. I snapped my head to the direction I heard Tess's voice and there she was, her arms wrapped around Nate's neck.

And her lips were pressed on Nate's lips. They were kissing. I stood there, rooted to the ground, staring at them as my heart started racing. Tess's hands travelled down his back and wrapped his arms around her waist. They were still kissing.

And it didn't look to me like Nate was trying to resist. I felt more tears roll down my cheeks. I was right. Nothing good ever happens in my life. I shrugged out of his jacket just as Nate pulled away from Tess.

She turned to face me, a big smirk erupting on her face. "Oh hey Mary. I didn't see you there," she said innocently, blinking her eyes at me. I tossed the jacket at Nate and it hit him square on the face.

"Keep it," I said through gritted teeth. His face was flushed and he was breathing heavily. I looked into his eyes, trying to see if he really enjoyed it. They were unreadable.

"Mary," he started as he reached out to me.

I stepped back, shivering from anger and the sudden gust of wind. "Don't touch me!" I choked out between tears. Tessa sneered at me as she pulled Nate back. "She's so not worth it Natey," I could have puked there and then.

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get away. I needed to clean up and I needed to get to class and I needed not to exist. "Don't call me that! Get away from me! Mary!" Nate said as I turned away.

I guess I was never meant for a happy ending. I ignored the shouts from Nate that pleaded me to go back. If I listened to him, I really would turn around.

"Mary!" he shouted as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to face him. "Listen to me, please."

I looked away. "Nevermind, go and hang out with your girlfriend. I…"

I could almost imagine Tess laughing at me in the background.

"She's not my girlfriend!" he said angrily.

I pulled away from Nate.

"Keep telling yourself that."

I ran.

**So… how was it? Please review, I have a few things I would like my readers to tell me. (: was this what you were expecting? Did you like how things turned out? Or did you want something else, tell me what you were dreaming about! And… do you wanna hear nates point of view of things, or do you want to have some Smitchie time?**

**Please review okay?**

**Love  
CauseimFearless**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! I can't tell you how extremely busy I've been. Heads up, I'm going to be gone on a seven day vacation the day after tomorrow. I'll be gone for one whole week, sadly. Anyway, i'm going to try to post while im on vacation okay? I'm going to see if I can get internet connection there so I'm bringing my laptop with me. Thanks to the people that made me want to continue writing this story while I was feeling down today: live-in-dreamland1 (your reviews are so awesome! Im sorry I didn't put any Smitchie in, it didn't seem right to put it in this chapter. Did I mention you rock for reviewing so much?), .x for reviewing (it made me smile (: ) Elisabeth2me for reviewing (your review was enthusiastic! It was super nice to read!) batongirl for faving, tessa411( uhm to answer your not really a question but… haha. Tess actually said 'oh hey mary, didn't see you there' after she kissed Nate. So Nate got the name from Tess actually) JClayton for adding it to alert) **

**That's all the stuff I needa say thanks for! Enjoy (hopefully)**

**Disclaimer : I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock. **

Chapter 9: School

Marys POV

I didn't know where I was going to run to. This was school, where else could I go except class? I wiped away my tears and commanded myself to stop. _He isn't worth it. He isn't worth it! _I thought I was really good at controlling myself, I had spent all my life putting a stopper on my tears because I knew there was no point—no one would come to save me anyway.

Then, why? Why was I still crying? Why couldn't I stop? I pushed pass a bunch of people all staring at me as I made for the side door. I couldn't hear the footsteps or sounds of someone following me. Nate must have decided to leave me alone. He must have decided I really was worthless.

When I was in the corridor walking towards the bathroom I began to slow down. Everyone was still outside thronging around Connect Three, I could hear them. Good, that was good. I needed to be alone. Without Mitchie or Tami, just alone.

I pulled on the bathroom door and stepped inside, checking each stall for occupants. Empty. So all the girls in school really _were _hardcore Connect Three fans. I groaned and made for the sinks, pulling my shirt under the tap and brushed at the coke.

Nate's face kept on running through my mind. _Mary! Mary!_ Was he really just taken by surprise by Tess? Then that picture died away and a new one, so real that I felt I could reach out and grab it, appeared.

Tess with her lips pressed on his, Tess with her arms wrapped around him. Nate with his arms wrapped around her. I stopped cleaning my shirt and leaned forward, gasping for air. I could feel tears start to resurface. I ran into a stall and locked the door behind me.

And then I remembered, I was slightly claustrophobic. If I stayed for a long time in a small secluded area like this, I would feel cramped and afraid… lifeless. But I couldn't go anywhere else. The bathroom was going to be a haven to me on the first day of school. Pathetic.

I slammed down the toilet cover and plopped myself on it, grabbed the roll of tissue paper and began crying, dabbing at my eyes as tears fell. It hurt so much to cry that I leaned over, hiccupping and gasping for air, but still crying.

I patted my pocket for a moment and felt the bulge of my inhaler there. Good. I was safe here. I was safe for now.

I just hope Nate isn't in my class.

Nate's POV

"Shane I need to get out of here." I panted as I ran up to him. Away, that's where I needed to go. Away.

"Shane!" I shouted. He was still hugging Mitchie and it seemed like they were glued together. Mary and I could have been that way. Shane pulled away and was about to scream at me—probably anyway—when he stopped and leaned forward.

"What is it Nate?" He asked me. "Have you been crying?" I rubbed at my eyes, which were probably rimmed red.

"No, but I sure as heck feel like my eyes are going to burst or something."

"What happened?" Mitchie asked as she turned to me. Her arms were still wrapped around Shane's waist.

"The mystery girl, that's what happened. Shane, I saw her. I _met _her."

"Mystery girl?" Mitchie asked evidently confused.

"Some girl he ran into yesterday and got all smitten with, like the way I got crazy about you," Shane told her, a smile playing on his lips. Mitchie giggled but turned back to me.

"But isn't it good that you met her? Why are you sad?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "Unless she's someone you don't really like or something?"

I shook my head. "No, she was… amazing. When we looked at each other, just _looked_ , it was… wow. Impossibly wow. I can't explain it. I've never felt this way before."

Shane nodded approvingly. "You got in deep, Nate."

"Who is she?" Mitchie asked.

"Mary." I answered.

Mitchie seemed to turn pale for a moment. Still as stone.

"Wait you got her name?" Shane asked.

"Not really… That's why I'm so angry!"

"Angry?" Mitchie asked. She seemed to be trying to control her tone. It was as if she knew something I didn't. "What happened?"

"Tess is what happened! I was going to get her name then, bam! Tess came, pulled me away and kissed me." Shane shook his head. "That girl has to seriously leave you alone." I rubbed my head, feeling blush creeping into my cheeks.

"I know… but I didn't exactly _fight _back." Mitchie and Shane glared at me for a moment, their eyes widening, mouths open as they took a step closer to me. "You _what?" _they screamed at me.

I raised up my hands in defense and whispered, "Quiet!" Mitchie and Shane looked around at the fan girls that were trailing behind us now, oblivious to our conversation. We nodded to each other and pushed through the front doors, walking like a tight bunch to prevent anyone from hearing us.

"She used to be my ex-girlfriend, Shane. I thought… I thought… I don't know what I thought! I was so confused. Mary was so different and new, and Tess was familiar. And I need that now, I need to know who likes me for who I am. I was afraid to invite someone in." I admitted.

Mitchie made a noise between a choke and a cry. "So you just let her kiss you in front of Mary?" She asked me. "I pulled away!" I defended. Mitchie slapped her head with her palm.

"What's wrong?" Shane asked, pulling on her hands as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Where is Mary? Where is she?" Mitchie whispered fervently at me. Wow, I didn't think Mitchie would be so concerned about a total stranger.

"I don't know." I whispered back. "Why do you care?" Mitchie's face grew deep red and she pulled away from Shane. "Because she's my best friend you famous idiot!" I stepped back, hands up against Mitchie's sudden fierceness. Then something clicked in my brain.

"Please… please tell her that I _need _to see her again. I _have _to. And I'm sorry I didn't mean to kiss Tess. I just…I need to explain. I need to…" I trailed off, breathing heavily with exasperation as I pleaded with Mitchie.

"Mitchie please," Shane helped me, leaning down and pulling Mitchie into a hug. She sighed. "Fine, fine. But you have better come up with a better explanation the next time Nate, or you're not good enough for her."

I nodded solemnly. I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I watched Mitchie walk away.

Mary, I'm going to get you back.

I will.

Mitchie's POV

Tami, Tami, Tami. Where was that girl? I rolled my eyes. Whenever you didn't need her, she would come and irritate you until you wished you could live under a rock for your whole life. And when you needed her… well she was nowhere to be found.

I headed to the canteen, praying that Tami would be there. I would be in so much trouble if a teacher caught me and I was already stretching it. My lunch break would be over soon and I needed at least ten minutes to sneak back from the university to the high school unit.

I stood up straight and sucked in my cheeks, strutting towards the cafeteria, praying that I looked nineteen. Which was hard, since I was only sixteen. I sighed and puffed out my cheeks to normal. The things Tami and I did for Mary.

When I reached the canteen I peeked in. Oh man, there were _way_ too many people there. I should have brought Shane, he could have acted as a distraction. I spotted Tami across the cafeteria….

Getting cozy in the arms of_ Jason_? I pulled away and hid behind the door, peeking through the window. There was Tami, sitting next to Jason, feeding him. I grinned as I stepped back. So that was why she hadn't picked up her phone.

I sighed. I didn't want to do this. But Tami left me with no choice. I turned the volume on my phone up to maximum and choose the loudest song on my cellphone. It was heavy metal. I covered one ear with one hand, scrunched my eyes and stuck my hand inside the cafeteria.

I pressed play, and my cellphone started blasting loud music that echoed off the room. I was hoping that everyone would rush out then I would be able to grab Tami, because I knew she didn't care about these kind of things.

She liked living in her own kind of weird world. Instead—and I should have expected this since this was university—everyone started grabbing their bags or thrusting their hands into their pockets and pulled out their cellphones.

Figures. University was so weird. I stepped away and walked down the corridor, knowing that Tami would be calling me any second once she saw how many missed calls from me she got. Sure enough my cell phone started buzzing.

"Tami, we got a situation," I said as I snuck out the front door and ran across the parking lot to get to the high school unit.

"Wait, was that sickeningly loud ringtone from you? What were you doing in the university unit Mitchie?"

I paused for a moment when I turned around to check that no teacher had seen me.

"Mary problem." I proceeded to give her as much information as I knew, which wasn't much, but we managed to paste the puzzle pieces together.

"Oh no. But knowing Mary, she'll never ever listen to Nate." Tami said. I stepped into the high school unit and blended into the crowd as I walked over to my locker. "I know."

I opened my locker and glanced to my left and right. Mary wasn't there. Good. "Then… Nate doesn't stand a chance." Tami stated.

"He does! We have to help him," I argued.

"You are crazy Sherlock. What do you have in mind?" Tami laughed.

"This is what we have to do…"

Marys POV

The bell rang and I sighed with relief. I felt like I was holding my breath the whole day. The last lesson, music with Mr. Thompson, was done. I reached down and grabbed my bag, scooted out of my chair and ran to the door.

I glanced behind me as I stood at the doorway for a moment. Nate was sitting in the back of the class and he was staring at me. His eyes seemed to be pleading with me. _Stay. _I turned my head and walked out.

I wasn't going to allow myself to be the charity case. Not again, not at school. I walked over to my locker and was surprised to find that Mitchie wasn't there waiting for me. I ignored it and opened my locker.

Today wasn't so bad, minus the drenching with coke in the morning, the Nates'-affection-towards-Tess show where I got free tickets, my crying fit that became worse because I was claustrophobic in the stall, the asthma attack I almost had from crying…

Today _was_ bad, I admitted. The only good thing was that Nate was only in my music class. The silver lining, I thought bitterly as I slammed the locker closed and wove in and out of the crowd in the corridor.

When I walked out the front doors I spotted the Great Pumpkin at foot of the steps. Some high school boys were making fun of it and Mitchie was holding Tami back as she attempted to lash out at them

I laughed. Suddenly, everything seemed to normal. So back to normal. Then I saw Tess's pink convertible pull up behind the Pumpkin and she winked at me. I felt my throat tighten and I walked down the steps, pulled the door open and slid in to sit in the middle.

Tami and Mitchie seemed to sense my bad mood because the slipped in after me, Tami glaring at the guys before she pulled away.

"How was school?" She asked casually.

"Guys… I need to tell you something," I started. It was high time I tell them about Nate.

"Oh, we know," Mitchie and Tami announced.

I nodded slowly. "Okay… I'm sorry for not telling you," They smiled. "It's perfectly alright Mary," Tami said.

She winked at Mitchie for a brief fleeting moment. I didn't think I was supposed to see it so I pretended I didn't.

"You can tell us though… again…" Tami said slowly as she shot Mitchie another strange look. Both of them were hiding something from me.

Definitely.

**Was it nice? Hopefully? I was practically half dead while I wrote it haha. Anyone want to make a guess at what they do? Haha. Anyway please review! I love all my constant reviewers and my other reviewers that are becoming constant! If that makes sense....**

**Please Review! I will try to get up one more chapter tomorrow before I leave!**

**Love  
Cause imFearless 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey! I'm sorry I was out the whole day yesterday and so I couldn't update but I woke up mucho early to get this chapter done and out. I'm leaving for the airport in a few hours! AH! Anyway, to the wonderful readers of mine that are going to push me to try and get internet connection in the hotel: live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (I LOVE your reviews, they are always one of the first ones I read) 711slurpeerocks for reviewing (thanks for the nice review, doesn't everyone wish to have their own mitchie and tami? Haha) tessa411 for putting it on favs and reviewing (your review was so sweet (: Thank you ) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thank you so much for your super nice comments (: ) and Brazillianprincess for putting it on alert.**

**You all rock so much! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Another Cinderella Story**

Chapter 10: Voice Lessons

Mary's POV

I spent the whole ride catching mysterious glances from Tami and Mitchie. The weirdo duo. I ignored them, knowing I would pay a price for it later, I was just too worn out to care. "Going to the studio today?" Tami asked as she approached the junction near Dominique's house.

I nodded. "I need to unwind. Studio please," Tami smiled at me and turned left, driving away from the house. Mitchie sighed. "You can't keep running Mary."

"I can try," I reasoned. "I've been through worse than running Mitch, I can do this." She shook her head. "No you can't. And you know you can't. I just don't understand why you're so scared. Nate's going to be at school _every day_, sooner or later you're going to have to face him."

I laughed feebly to myself. "I don't know Mitchie. Just… don't start okay?" my voice cracked on the last word and all three of us were quiet on the way to the studio. It was weird, we were rarely every like this.

The last time was when Tami came back crying because her boyfriend broke up with her. This time it was because of Nate. Why were boys always doing this? I leaned my head against the window. That's why I always stayed away from guys. They just weren't… they weren't worth all the time we girls spent on them.

"You can stop here," I told Tami when she was a block away from the studio. "Can't have anyone seeing the Great Pumpkin," I reminded. Tami sighed and patted the dashboard. "You can be such a nuisance sometimes," she scolded her car.

Mitchie and I exchanged looks. "You're so weird Tami," we said for the second time today. It was habitual. She shrugged. "And that's why you love me. Skateboard's in the back. Have fun Mary," She waved me away.

"Bye Mary!" Mitchie called as I slipped out the seat and walked around back. I pulled the great orange door to the side, grabbed my skateboard and slammed the door shut. "Thanks Tam! Bye guys!" I waved as they drove away.

I walked over behind a car and took out a band hanging on my wrist. I bundled up my hair then added on mascara on my eyes and blush on my cheeks. I stopped to observe myself in the side mirror of the car. At least now I didn't look too much like 'Mary'.

Satisfied, I dropped my skateboard and pushed away from the car, heading down to the studio one block away. When I reached I made sure to check around me for any familiar face before I stepped through the front door.

The bell over it jingled pleasantly, and the faint scent of lavender in the room had me relax in a second. "Mary?" A voice called from the back. "Lianne," I called back to acknowledge I had heard her.

A minute later and Lianne was standing in front of me, pulling me into a big bear hug that smelled like honey. "Coco misses you," she said when she pulled away. Coco was her dog that I walked every Saturday night, to help pay for these lessons.

"I miss her too," I turned around and headed for the door that Lianne had come out from. "Lesson's starting?" I asked. "Out back," Lianne waved her hand quickly and winked. "It's nice having you back Mary." I smiled. "I feel nice too."

I stepped into the small room and closed the door behind me, before flipping on the light and dropping my skateboard and my bag—which I had fixed last night—on the floor. I was standing in an empty and extremely small ballet studio, with a tiny storeroom connected to it in the back.

One wall seemed to be made of clear glass, but he other side of the glass was actually a mirror, so no one would realize that I was behind it. The room on the opposite was actually another ballet studio, where official voice lessons were held. Lianne ran not only a dancing academy, but she gave voice lessons too.

I dropped my hoodie next my bag and went to sit with my back against the mirror. It was a kind of ritual I had. I would sit in the studio and wait for the class next door to arrive. Meanwhile, I would just sit there, telling myself how lucky I was for having met Lianne.

She was my dead mother's closest friend. She was my first friend. She wanted to help me, like everyone else. But when I told her that Dominique was the only thing my dad had loved in years, she stepped back. She understood. She knew when to back away, and I found a special comfort in her I couldn't find in Tami or Mitchie.

So she set up this special room for me to go to every voice lesson. She knew I wanted to be a singer. I tried to concentrate on the good parts of my life while I sat there, but my mind kept on wandering back to Nate.

_Sooner or later you're going to have to talk to him. _I pulled my hair out of my ponytail and ran my hand through it. How soon was soon? Tomorrow, the day after, next week? I wasn't ready, I didn't think I would be ready for a long time.

"Welcome back everyone," Liannes loud voice boomed. Without realizing it, the class had already arrived. I stood up and turned towards the mirror, clearing my throat. It was a good thing this studio was soundproof.

"We missed you Lianne," the class sang to her. I smiled. "I missed you Lianne," I sang back. She nodded approvingly. "At least I know your brains haven't turned to mush while I was away." Everyone laughed. The sound was musical, it always was.

Lianne clapped her hands twice. "Warm ups!" Everyone scrambled to find a place on the floor, then they lied down on their backs and starting singing scales. I did the same and laid down next to the glass. _Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do… _and back again.

Then the second exercise, breathing. The room was silent except for the sound of steady breathing and a sudden click that echoed through the room next door. I ignored it and moved on to the next exercise.

_Dum cha dum cha dum cha cha_

When we finished I sat up, beaming. I had forgotten what voice lessons used to be like, and I was beginning to feel the same way I did on my first lesson. "New song!" Lianne called when everyone sat up.

"Awesome," A guy sitting in the back sang, his pitch was very low. Another guy next to him sang the word one pitch higher. It continued until it reached Tess, yes Tess was in the class, who sang it at the highest pitch. I was singing with everyone the whole time.

Lianne smiled. "Yes, yes, I have a guest, here with us today. He has taken some time off to come and teach you."

_He_? Who was he? I sat up straight, just noticing that someone was standing in front of Lianne. But I was behind them, so I couldn't see him. All the girls in the class started squealing. The guest must be a hot star, I thought impishly to myself.

"Nate from Connect Three!" Lianne announced. Wait, Nate? I backed away from the mirror. _No_, no more drama! But there he was, standing with his back faced to me, beaming—well I guessed he was—at the class. I dropped my head in my hands. I felt like I was in a soap opera. Nate just happened to be wherever I went.

Wasn't life so ironic? I sat down on the floor and folded my legs, staring at Nate's back. I wanted to be a singer, and I wouldn't let Nate be an obstacle to stop me, I told myself stubbornly. "Alright, today, we're going to be learning a song I wrote yesterday, you'll be the first to hear it," Nate said as he went to stand in the front of the room.

I raised my eyebrows. Interesting. "Alright listen up," he hushed the class and cleared his throat.

_Afraid to walk on alone  
Afraid to be sure  
That even in the darkness  
You could find a cure_

_You're walking on afraid of life  
And you're asking yourself why  
You're asking yourself why  
you're so afraid_

But take my hand and follow me through  
Hear my footsteps, beating down with you  
Feel the wind against you, and suddenly you're free  
And you find yourself tangled up in me

"That's the first half," Nate ended his song. The room was so quiet you could hear everyone breathing. I found myself staring at him. The song was like déjà vu all over again. The first two verses were so me. And the last verse. The chorus, I was betting it was. It was so… so _us. _

That day in the park. My hand flew up to my mouth and I instinctively covered it in shock. Had Nate felt the same way? Couldn't be.

The rest of the lesson was spent teaching us the harmony of the song, but I didn't pay attention. I didn't even _sing. _I was too busy thinking about Nate. When the lesson ended, I didn't realize it was over until I heard the sudden sounds of ringing cellphones. Cell phones weren't allowed in vocal training and whenever the training was done, everyone immediately got messages and missed calls.

I stood up slowly, grabbing my things and slinging them around my shoulder. I watched as most of the class emptied out until only Lianne, Tess and Nate were left. Tess draped her arms around Nate's waist and I rolled my eyes, ignoring the pang of hurt that jabbed at me.

I turned around quickly, but I thought I saw Nate pull away from Tess. When Tess and Nate had left the room, Lianne turned around and mouthed at the mirror, 'w_ait'. _I nodded and waved my hand towards the door, even though I knew she couldn't see me.

When she had left, I slowly tiptoed over to the door of the studio I was in and pressed my ear against it.

"Nate," Tess's muffled voice pleaded.

"Lianne, where's the bathroom?" He asked, apparently ignoring Tess. I felt a spark of triumph bubble inside of me.

"Over there," I heard Lianne's voice call.

I pressed my ear tighter to the door. The sound of footsteps was getting louder. "Here?" Nate's voice floated into the room and I felt like my heart had frozen for a minute. Nate thought the ballet studio I was in was… the bathroom?

I stood up quickly and grabbed a nearby chair, placing it flimsily under the doorknob. It looked a lot easier when they did it in movies. _Window… window_. I was shaking from nervousness, my breathing fast and unsteady. I spotted one in the corner of the back room that was attached to the ballet studio. I ran over to it, turning around in horror when I heard the sound of a chair falling.

I knew I didn't put it right! Come on, Mary. Come on! I threw my bag and skateboard through the window and put my hands on the window sill, taking in a deep breath and jumpingthrough the frame. "Ouch!" I exclaimed when my butt hit the concrete.

Inside the room I could hear the sound of the door opening. "What's this chair here for? Hey Lianne! This isn't the bathroom!" Nate called. I couldn't help but snigger a bit. "What? Get away from there!" Lianne's panicked voice sang.

I peeked over the edge of the window to get a better look and saw Lianne push Nate out of the way and stick her head of messy brown hair into the room. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw I wasn't in there.

"What is it?" Nate asked her. "Oh nothing," she dismissed him as she turned around and closed the door behind her. I smiled at Lianne's ability to act on will; she was such a drama queen.

I picked up my bag which had fallen on the ground beside me and reached over to my skateboard. When I was sure the coast was clear, I skateboarded down the block and to the usual spot outside Mcormy's video store. As expected, Tami and the great pumpkin were waiting for me.

I threw my skateboard into the back and hopped in.

"Mitchie?" I asked, surprised when I saw her behind the wheel. "Oh no… Mitchie don't." I raised an eyebrow. She turned to me and frowned. "Hey, Tami has a license and she's sitting next to me so technically, I'm not breaking any laws here."

"I'm too young to die!" I complained and I sunk back into the seat. Tami laughed. "Both of us are. But I've got university now Mary. I can't help with the driving all the time. Mitchie needs to pick up the slack." She winked at her.

"I'm fine just skateboarding anywhere I want to go," I started. Tami shook her head. "Nah uh. We're not letting your legs fall off. Hit it Sherlock," Tami nudged Mitchie and the car jerked forward.

"Burrito Monday is going to come back," I complained again as I grasped my stomach. "We'll be fine… I think," Mitchie said as she concentrated. I sighed. I was going to have to get used to this.

"Anyway," I said in the most casual tone I could muster. "Yes?" Tami asked. "You guys were giving each other weird signals today after school, could Nate coming to teach the vocal lessons be anything to do with you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Mitchie turned her head to me. "Wait _he's_ teaching the vocal lessons?"

"Eyes on the road!" Tami screeched as she slapped Mitchie's head back to the front. "Okay, okay," she mumbled.

"I'm waiting," I tapped my fingers impatiently on the windowsill. "No, nothing to do with us. I'm just as surprised as you," Mitchie said. Tami nodded. "I thought he came back to recuperate because he didn't want to sing anymore?"

Wait, what in the world was Tami talking about?

"But he sang perfectly fine!" I exclaimed. "He did?" Tami asked with surprise. "So I guess he's fine then. You're still so worried about him, Mary. Admit it. Talk to him." She shot another weird glance at Mitchie who was too concentrated on the road to reciprocate.

I leaned back against the chair again. What happened to Nate? And what on earth were the weirdo duo going to do to me? I sighed and grasped the edge of the seat when Mitchie practically flew over a road bump.

I had never had so many things on my mind at once.

**Anyway I really gotta go now! I'll try to get internet connection there but if I cant, PLEASE DON'T GET TIRED OF THIS STORY! There's so few people reading it now, and it's saddening cause I want more insight ):**

**Please review okay! Even if you just put it on alert or something, just one word would make my day! Thank you, and have a nice week if I can't come back to fanfiction while im away! Merry early Christmas!  
**

**Love  
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	11. Chapter 11

**YES~! I managed to get internet connection! (im so sorry it took so long but holidaying here is like time has frozen and the computer just doesn't exist) but I decided I would get connection today because it's Christmas eve! So thank you so much, (I was so excited I was jumping around the hotel room when I saw all my reviews). Thank you to my lovely readers that made this the most awesomest Christmas eve/Christmas, and this chapter is for you (: Thank you to: 711slurpeerocks for reviewing (Thank you for your idea (: ) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (your review was funny haha) tessa411 for reviewing (I know what you mean! I try to read and write long stories only cause their so much nicer) for adding it to alert and faving and reviewing (your review was SO nice. It made me smile until my teeth fell off-you get the idea (;- thanks for checking everyday!) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thank you your such a constant reviewer too!) Dancer4life15 for putting it on alert, lulu96 for putting it on alert, bubblelover42 for reviewing (thank you for your nice comments, its always awesome to know someone loves your writing!) and putting me on alert. **

**That was long !I'm still on holiday and internet connection here is so expensive its scary so I probably wont update until I get back in another 2 or 3 days. Im sorry if this chapter is kinda rushed, I wrote it on the airplane. Please enjoy—hopefully (:!**

**Disclaimer: (I keep on forgetting to put these) I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock)**

Chapter 11: Sherlock and her Assistant

"I think both of you are going to see Burrito Monday again." I said for the fifth time the whole ride. I groaned as I slid out of my seat and walked around to the back of the car. Mitchie was sitting behind the drivers' wheel, bouncing with excitement.

"That… was…_awesome!_" She squealed. Tami shook her head. "Mary don't leave me with her," she joked with a serious voice. Mitchie wrinkled her nose. "You're just jealous that I'm such a good driver." I laughed.

"If you think so, Mitch," I giggled as I took out my skateboard and slammed the door. "I'm just glad the pumpkin survived," Tami said lovingly as she patted the dashboard. Mitchie and I rolled my eyes.

"Aren't we all?" I called as I slammed the front door shut. "Lots of love Mary!" Mitchie and Tami shouted out the window before they turned around, Tami mouthing _'help' _ before they disappeared down the street.

I couldn't help but smile as I skateboarded up to the house. I had a pair of weirdos for best friends. As I went up the driveway I started humming the song that Nate had sang during the vocal lessons.

_  
But take my hand and follow me through  
Hear my footsteps, beating down with you  
Feel the wind against you, and suddenly you're free  
And you find yourself tangled up in me_

The song was so emotional and the way he had sang it, it sounded like it had been meant for someone. The chorus seemed to be echoing the memory of the day in the park I had with him. Had he been like me? Did he hear the sound—the _music—_that we made just by being together?

Tami's voice interrupted my thoughts. _"I thought he came back to recuperate because he didn't want to sing anymore?"_ what did she mean by that? Why wouldn't Nate want to sing?

He seemed to like it, _love _it. And for someone like him, life without music would be worse than a death sentence. I knew that, if I didn't have music I would have given up on myself long ago and given into Domifreak. Thank goodness I had music. I dragged my feet across the driveway to my room.

Had something happened to him? Did someone tell him something bad about his music that he just didn't have the heart to sing anymore? But Nate was famous,

he wouldn't let critique affect him. Afterall, he _was_ a member of Connect Three. There were people who loved them to death and people who hated them to the core. He should be used to it by now.

I lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Maybe Mitchie was right. Maybe I needed to talk to him. I didn't have much of a choice. If I didn't get things straight soon, I would keep on thinking of him until I went mad.

I nodded to myself as if I was confirming the thought with my inner conscience or something. I relaxed into my bed sheets before standing up and going to my cupboard, pulling out my maid outfit, which was a simple knee-length grey dress that had white buttons down the front and a collar, and slipped it on.

_Beep: Get in here Mary!_

Dominique's screechy voice rang and echoed off the walls of my room. I sighed and slipped on my 'maid shoes' which were simple black ballet-flats made of cloth with a rubber sole.

_Hurry up, Mary!_

I walked out of my bedroom and hurried over to the main house. Dominique was always looking for any opportunity to make me hate life more. She was always right on time. Always.

Tami's POV

I sat cross-legged on my big canopy bed, Mitchie was sitting at my desk strumming on my dad's guitar and jotting down notes in her yellow songbook. I sighed loudly to get her attention. That Sherlock was so out of it sometimes. She set the guitar down and turned to me.

"Yes?" She asked expectantly. I rolled my eyes. She was still ticked off about the teeny comment I made about her sickeningly crazy and life-threatening skill at driving.

"Oh get over it, Sherlock. We have Mary code red," I patted my bed and folded my arms. Mitchie sighed and jumped onto my bed opposite me. "I know… Mary looks so crushed, even though she's pretty good at hiding it."

I nodded. Mitchie had known Mary longer than me, but I was close enough to the both of them that I was able to practically see through their motives. Okay, well not really, but I liked to think of it that way.

"You said you had a plan," I cocked my head to the side. It was a habit I had whenever I wanted a question answered. Mitchie laughed. "Stop doing that and I'll tell you," she teased.

I puckered my lips irritably. "Fine, fine," I cupped my face between my hands and stared at her. "You should at lease humor me. I was nice enough to sit next to you while you drived."

Mitchie smacked my head with a pillow. "Do you want me to tell you?" I laughed. "Okay, okay," I raised one finger and pressed it to my lips. Mitchie smiled evilly at me. The things I did for the both of them.

Jason's POV

"I should drive," Shane argued from the passenger seat. I shook my head stupidly. I was older, _I _should drive. And he owed me for not making me a birdhouse.

"If this is about the birdhouse…" Shane started. I glared at him. "It isn't. Okay well it is a bit, but that's far from the point." I said, purposely using a low voice. I was told it made me sound serious. And smart.

Shane sighed. None of them ever took me seriously. But I could be serious—and smart if I wanted to. I just acted stupid in front of everyone. _Everyone_. But right now was the exception.

I looked at the rearview mirror and spotted Nate staring out the window. "How was the vocal lesson? Did they sound like birdies?" I asked. Nate's head snapped back to me, like I had roped him in with a life saver.

"Huh? Oh yeah…" he mumbled. Nate didn't speak much usually, but I could sense something was wrong. "Hey man, are you okay?" I asked, not looking at the rearview mirror anymore. Nate needed some private time.

Shane didn't get the memo though, the blockhead. He turned around and looked at Nate. "What was up with you and Mary at school today?" Nate looked away. "It's… nothing."

"No it isn't," Shane argued. I wanted to reach over and smack him on the head, but I needed to pay attention to Nate. "Tess trouble?" I asked. Shane had filled me in on everything this morning but I still wanted to clear things up with Nate.

"Look man, if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." I glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw Nate smile appreciatively at me. "Thanks man." I smiled at bit to myself. Job done, time to revert to the other Jason.

"You owe me birdies." I reminded and continued driving. Shane groaned. "Not again…"

"Nah uh uh," I droned shaking my head. "Birdies are awesome." I sniggered to myself when I saw the exasperated look on shane's face.

"But birdies—" he tried to argue but my cell phone started ringing and I reached over to the dashboard and grabbed it. Tami's number flashed across the screen.

I grinned. Tami was the down-to-earth girl that I had met at the university unit of West Waters. She seemed to be the only girl that didn't mind my dunce head, she even guessed I was smarter than I let on.

And the most important thing—she seemed to like me for who I was, not because I was famous. I flipped my cell phone up and pressed it to my ear, my right hand still steering.

"Yellow," I greeted. "What's up birdman," Tami's voice came slightly muffled through my cell phone. "The roof, and hopefully birdies," I responded, almost laughing at my ease at acting stupid.

"I'm sure there's some flying aliens up there. Anyway, have you heard of the Mary and Nate drama?" She asked. How did she know about that? "Yes… I've heard it…" I started. How did Tami know Mary? "Don't you think they look good together?" She asked.

I had no idea where this conversation was going. "I think they do, I've never seen Mary before."

"True… but they seem to like each other a lot. Even after everything that happened today." Tami said.

I nodded slowly, even though I knew Tami couldn't see me. "They should get together… again." Tami said. "And I know how."

"You do?" I asked, my eyebrows rising in surprise. Shane leaned over the seat and tapped my arm. _Who is it?_ He mouthed. _Later._ I mouthed back. There was some muffled voices on the other line.

"I do." Tami replied. "And I'm going to need your help."

Mary's POV

I groaned as I dropped all the bags of garbage against the wall on the sidewalk. It amazed me how much trash Domifreak could burn in a week. Domifreak and the evil twins had gone out fifteen minutes ago to a beauty parlor, they were attending some important function later. But Domifreak hadn't told me what.

I brushed my hands on my uniform and turned to walk inside.

"Mary!" I heard Tami call me. Tami? What was she doing here? It was seven p.m! I turned to the direction of the voice and saw the great pumpkin rattle up to the driveway.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered fervently as the car pulled to a stop in front of me. "Hop in," Tami said, opening the door. "Are you kidnapping me?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's not kidnapping if you come of your own free will." Tami said. "Which you should. Trust me." I turned around to face the dark house and turned back to Tami.

"Normally I would… but." Tami groaned. She pulled on my arm and dragged me into the car, slamming the door behind me.

"Hit it Sherlock!" She shouted over my screams of protest. "Mitchie? Oh no, she isn't driving, tell me she isn't driving!" I protested. But the pumpkin was already flying down the street.

"Both of you have lost it! Absolutely lost it!" I crossed my arms irritably, glaring at the both of them. "If Domifreak comes home and finds me gone, I am so _dead_. And heads up! Both of you—not invited to my funeral!"

"I'm hurt," Tami said, faking a pained expression and pressing her hand to her heart.

"Ha, ha," I choked out and turned to look out the window. The houses that were passing by were getting bigger and bigger, grander and grander. "Some really rich people must live here," I said.

"Oh yeah, rich people live here all right," Tami replied mischievously.

Mitchie turned into one of the bigger houses at the end of the street. "Guys…" I warned as Mitchie turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"Welcome," Tami said in a low voice as she sweeped her arms out towards the house. "To Connect Three's humble abode."

Oh no. They did not. They _did. Not. _I turned in horror to face the large house with large glass windows and beige curtains, the faint outlines of people moving behind the thin fabric.

They did not they did not they are _not _doing this to me!

I turned to face Tami and Mitchie, both of them smiling—grinning at me.

They did.

**Yes so that was it! Did you like it? This chapter is my Christmas present to all of you wonderful people who reviewed, added me on alert, added the story to alert and favs etc. **

**YOU ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MADE MY HOLIDAY!**

**Please review 3 and have a nice Christmas with your families!**

**Love love love  
CauseimFearless**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! I'm back to my home sweet home! All of you are so lovely, giving me Christmas presents (in the form of reviews) before Christmas and after christmas is over. So Thank you to those people that take the time to review and make my day. Thank you to: Dancer4life15 for reviewing (im glad you can't get enough of my story! Thank you!) babii angel for faving, (your review was so funny thank you!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (thank you for the idea) 711slurpeerocks for reviewing (im glad you loved that line! I was hoping it would come across as funny) truluc for faving, sugarshinebabyxo for alerting, faving and reviewing (the longest review I ever got. I hope the story can live up to your expectations, and thank you for your review!) rae328 for reviewing (thank you! Im glad you like it!) marchanna for alerting, elisabeth2me for reviewing (I know, mitchie's a little daredevil! Haha. Im so glad that you've liked pretty much all the chapters so far!) xmareedax for putting me on alert, tessa411 for reviewing (hope I didn't make you wait for this too long!) kkckat3 for faving, and alerting, burning-up-for-you-baby for alerting, faving, and reviewing (haha I hope this chapter is drama enough for you!) luckydog829 for alerting, and hanani03 for reviewing (im glad you liked it!)**

**Wow the thank yous get longer and longer (That's a good thing) I hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock.**

Chapter 12: Roped In

Marys POV

I half expected Ashton Kutcher to jump out from behind a tree and scream "You've been punk'd!" Of course, he didn't and I was still stuck in a large dying orange van sitting next to two lunatics.

"Both of you have lost it! I don't know where your brains have gone but I'm commanding you to get them back this instant and drive me _home_!" I half whispered and half shrieked.

"You're not going home until you sort things out with Nate!" Mitchie replied stubbornly, swinging the keys near enough for me to almost grab them. Too bad I couldn't pay for driving lessons.

"I'm not ready!' I replied. I knew I said I was going to sort things out with him just a few hours ago, but I didn't mean that instant, I didn't mean _tonight._ I banged my head against the window twice.

"Yes you are, Mary. Besides, you never know until you try." Tami tried to coax me as she pulled my head away from the window. I jerked back and sank into the seat, as low as I could go. "Don't go philosophical on me, Tami. Now is _obviously_ not the time."

Tami sighed and leaned back too. "Now _is _the time. Nate _is _sorry. He _is. _You just wouldn't know because you didn't stick around long enough for him to explain. That was something someone else would do, not Mary."

I closed my eyes and tried counting to ten to calm myself. It didn't work. "If… if I just go in tonight, you'll stop bugging me about him?" I asked, trying to control my voice. Mitchie and Tami didn't reply for a heartbeat, they were probably too shocked.

"Yes… yes! Definitely… I mean maybe," Mitchie added the 'maybe' when Tami shot a glare at her. It was one of those don't-make-promises-you-can't-take-back glares. Tami used that glare a lot.

I groaned and stole a quick glance at the side mirror. The sidewalk wasn't too far from here. "Let's get this over with," I mumbled as I pushed the car door open. Quickly, I slid out of the seat and landed with my feet—for the first time ever—and made for the sidewalk.

"No you don't!" I heard Tami's voice screech and then suddenly Mitchie and Tami where at my heels, their arms pulling mine back as they steered me around towards the front door. How did they get to me so fast? It made me wonder how Nate and I managed to run away from the crazed fans for so long that time. Must have been the shoes.

I pulled at my arms, trying to free myself from their iron grip. "Have you guys been working out or something?" I panted when they finally managed to drag me to the front patio. Mitchie and Tami stood behind me, making sure I didn't run away. I was breathing heavily from my failed attempt at escaping.

Now Nate was going to have to explain to a sweaty and uncooperative girl like me. I brushed my hands off on my uniform—ugh I couldn't believe I was going to confront Nate in my maid uniform—and pressed the doorbell, shooting Sherlock and her devious new assistant a glare. They knew this one well. It was an I'll-get-you-later stare.

Shane was the one who opened the door. He was wearing dark denim jeans and a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Mitchie?" He asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm breathing but I've prefer the air inside," Mitchie teased when she saw the shocked expression on Shane's face. Tami laughed and I was trying very hard to keep a straight face. If I had to act like a stubborn four year-old to escape, I would.

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you they were coming over," Another voice—I assumed it was Jason said.

And then there was Jason standing behind Shane, beaming at Tami like he had just won the lottery. Guessing by the way they exchanged looks, it was kind of like he had. "Can we come in?" Mitchie asked and Shane nodded his head numbly, stepping back to let us in.

"Mary, Tami and you have already met me," Mitchie introduced us to Jason and Shane. Nate was nowhere in sight. I offered my hand for a handshake but the both of them engulfed me in a big hug. "It's nice to finally meet the girl that made Nate glow like a light bulb." Shane said. "He hasn't been that way since—" Jason nudged Shane hard and he stumbled a bit.

"Since?" I asked, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Maybe I could find out from him what had happened to Nate. "Nothing…" Shane said as he shifted uncomfortably.

"C'mon, let's go bird watching," Jason said as he grabbed Tami's arm and dragged her to the back of the house. I could tell that they wanted to avoid the subject so I played along.

"At night?" I asked. I was wrong when I thought Tami was the weirdest, either that or she had found someone on the same level of weird as her. Which was weirder.

"We're taking bird watching to a whole new level," Tami giggled back at me before she turned to follow Jason to the back. I heard the sound of a glass door sliding open and closing. Well, Tami was gone.

I sighed a bit to myself and started to rock back and forth on the balls of my feet. What was I going to say to Nate? "Where is that dunce anyway?" Mitchie asked Shane as Shane wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He turned his head towards the stairs and shouted up them, "Nate!"

I could feel my heart beat so fast I half expected to see it come thumping against my skin. I heard heavy footsteps down the stairs and then there was Nate, dressed in beach pants and a big baggy shirt—way too big for him—that read 'Do Not Read Me'. Geeky shirt.

"Mary?" he stammered when his eyes met mine. I smiled weakly and raised my hand feebly. "Nate." He bounded down the last few steps and stopped at the base of the stairs. "What are you doing here?" Apparently I wasn't the only one not informed about the ambushing.

"Being kidnapped by my best friends and yours," I answered simply. He nodded slowly. "That sounds like them." I almost smiled but suddenly Tess's face popped into my mind and I frowned instead.

Mitchie placed her hand on my back and pushed me a little bit forward so that I stumbled in Nate's direction. He held out his hands as they hovered near me, ready to catch me if I fell. It was like what he had done earlier that morning, before we were so rudely interrupted.

I cleared my throat longer than was necessary. My nerves were working overtime.

"Nate—" I started.

"Mary—"

"We need to talk," we both said at the same time, then laughed nervously. "Uh let's go up to my room, it's more private there," he whispered in my ear as he shot a nervous glance at Shane and Mitchie, who were grinning stupidly at us.

His warm breath sent shivers up my spine.

"Let's go." He turned around and raced up the stairs. I followed.

Tami's POV

I turned around to see Mary follow Nate up the stairs. That was a good sign, at least I didn't need to go in there and drag her up to Nate's bedroom myself. Things were working according to plan.

"Brilliant plan, from a brilliant mind," Jason said behind me. He had been trying so hard to compliment me every chance he got. I turned away from the door and bounded down the porch stairs to where he was.

"Yeah, I guess Mitch has a brilliant mind, 'cause I didn't come up with the plan," I said simply as I walked past him towards the pool.

"Oh…" He said slightly disappointed. I smiled slyly to myself I knew he was blushing and I was so glad I could get a guy to do that. A sentimental guy was hard to find these days.

Jason walked down stone steps set in the grass and he walked over to a big white hammock that seemed to glow from the soft light from the porch. I walked slowly, slipping out of my flipflops and brushing my feet along the stone, feeling the cold surface against my skin.

Jason sat down on the hammock and sat for a while, watching me as I walked over to the hammock and sat down on it. I hadn't so much as touched a hammock in a long time, so I didn't know how to shift my weight and ended up tumbling over onto Jason. Mitch and Mary were right, I was such a klutz.

"Sor… sorry," I stuttered to regain my balance. Jason shifted to the side and helped my lean back. It was a good thing it was so dark, or Jason would have seen me blush. I smiled weakly at him and looked up at the sky to the stars. They were so beautiful.

"Amazing right," Jason whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. The sound of his voice was so soft and calming. I snuggled deeper into the hammock. "Yeah, I miss the stars. I could never see this when I was in California."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jason turn to look at me, but I didn't turn to meet his eyes. "I'm… glad you came back." He breathed, I didn't think he meant for me to hear him say that.

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. The curve of his neck seemed just right for my head, like I was meant to do this.

"Jason?" I asked. "Hmm?" I could feel the vibration from his throat and I shivered. "Cold?" He asked me and placed his hand on my arm and ran it up and down, trying to warm me up. It took most of my energy to keep from shivering again.

"Jason, why do you always… seem like you're trying so hard to be different?" I asked. It seemed like every time I talked to him, there was something he wanted to say, but wouldn't and instead he would blurt out something stupid.

"I…I don't act like anything," he argued. I sat up and looked down at his face, but it was so dark I could only see the outline of his jaw. "You do. I don't know if other people notice it but… I do. Jason, you're always hiding something." I cocked my head. I guess old habits die hard.

Jason sat up too and sighed as he turned to look up at the stars. "It's complicated." I laughed. "With pop stars, pretty much everything is. I just want to spend time with the _real _Jason. Not the Jason that pretends he doesn't know everything. Because you do." I shrugged simply. "You just do."

It was silent for a while, except for the soft rustle of the leaves in the wind. The hammock shook slightly.

"You're the first person to ever tell me that." Jason said, breaking the silence. I almost heaved a sigh of relief that the moment of tension was broken. I lay back down on the hammock.

"You're the first person to ever make me want to say something like that." Jason shrugged. "It's a talent." I laughed. He seemed to want to change the subject, and I could take a hint. Besides, I didn't really want to ruin the thing, whatever that meant anyway, that we were having right now. I looked up at his face and unknowingly smiled.

"Hey, Jason?" He leaned over and brushed a lock of hair from my face. "Yes?"

"I'm glad I came back."

Mary's POV

I watched Nate walk down the hall, wondering whether I should follow him. Maybe, following him was a mistake. I peered down from the staircase and saw Mitchie and Shane snuggle on the couch. Both of them looked so happy, like they were glowing.

If I don't follow him, I could be making a mistake too. "Mary?" Nate turned around. For a moment he looked nervous, like he expected me to turn around and run out of the house. I almost did that, but it was that connection we had. It was like a gravitational pull and I felt myself following him.

_There's no turning back now, Mary._

Nate walked to the last door at the end of the row of doors and opened it. I hesitated at the door frame before entering. If I stepped in, we really would have to thrash it out. Who knew what would happen then?

But for some reason, some weird, abnormal, unnerving reason, I trusted him. I stepped into the room and turned around, closing the door behind me.

**Im sorry I had to end it at such a weird… part. I was planning for the chapter to be much longer but im already at page 6 on MS word! I know this isn't very drama, but I promise, it's going to get dramatic in the next chapter (hopefully)**

**Please review! They make my day!**

**Love love love**

**CauseimFearless**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! Im sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I was having writers block and I was kind of sad because I think im losing readers for this story ): But thank you to the people that still DID take time to review and add the story to favs etc. If for anything, I'll continue writing the story for you guys! Thanks to: elisabeth2me for reviewing (I glad you liked Tami and Jason!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (I hope they way they work things out is good enough haha) NANI hanani03 for reviewing (I hope I didn't update too late for you!) kckat3 for reviewing (thanks for your review. It's one of the nicest ones I've ever got!) evilprincessofdoom for putting me on alert, SugarShineBabyxo for reviewing (aha im glad you liked the humorous parts of the story. I thought it would be overkill) tess411 (I know I get what you mean! At least I know one of my readers isn't getting annoyed at all the cliffies im giving) azncutiebear3 for putting it on alert and reviewing (im glad you liked it!) **

**So that's it. Please review and tell me whether the chapt is okay! I was a bit worried because… well writers block can tend to… block your thoughts. Haha. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock**

Chapter 13: Confrontations and Worries

Nate's room was big, it was five times as large as mine. He had a huge bed, an even bigger closet—I wondered if he had more clothes than Domifreak, probably not—and one whole section filled with instruments.

I stood in the center of his room, my arms wrapped around myself, looking around and trying to buy time. Nate sat down on the edge of his bed and I followed him, sitting next to him, but not too close.

"You have a nice room," I started awkwardly. He chuckled a bit. "It's nice, but it gets kind of lonely having such a big room, when you're always the only one in it." I nodded. I knew what he meant, the feeling of loneliness.

I tapped my foot lightly on the carpeted floor, hearing the soft thud. We sat in silence, but this time it was strained, it wasn't the silence I had felt with him earlier that day. That time seemed like ages ago. I closed my eyes and took one deep, slow but shaking breath.

"I'm sorry Nate." I whispered. He turned to me, his eyes wide in confusion as they searched mine. "No, no, no," He whispered back. For a moment I wondered why we were whispering, but I guessed it was better than shouting at each other.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked me, his voice shaking, as if he was pleading with me.

I turned to face him, my hands gripping his comforter.

"Because, because I had no reason to react the way I did this morning to you and Tess. I mean… I overreacted and confused you and confused myself and I… I don't… I don't know…" My voice cracked and I looked away from him, afraid that if he saw me I would cry.

Nate shook his head and gently placed his hands on my shoulders. The warmth from his palm sent shivers up my spine. "Mary, Mary, listen to me. You shouldn't be sorry. I… this was all my fault. Everything is just so messed up! I didn't mean to kiss Tess… I never… the whole time… I thought she was you!"

I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. I was shocked. What was he saying? I knew there was something there, that day in the park. Could this be it? Could that strange feeling I felt, could it be that I liked him? That, that maybe he liked me too?

I looked up at his face, not caring that I was crying so much.

"What are you saying?" I asked, my voice shaking.

For a fleeting moment, I realized I was scared. I didn't know why, and that made me even more afraid.

"I'm saying, Mary, that that thing with Tess. I should never have let it happened… and I'm sorry," he said back to me, pulling me into a hug. I shivered under his embraced but let myself be enveloped in his warmth, his scent anyway.

"But Nate, I'm confused. I _think _I'm your friend. So I shouldn't be acting this way. But Tess… _She's _you're girlfriend isn't she?" I said into his shirt, my voice muffled by the cloth and my sniffles.

He nodded, and tightened his arms around me, as if Tess was standing in front of him and he was trying to protect me.

"She is. No. She _was. _I don't know how we started, but I ended it. She just can't let go." I felt a pang in my chest. One, was I Nate's friend now? Or was I something more? It was so confusing. And two, Tess seemed to love Nate. A lot. Was I being the wrong one here, coming in between them?

And for the millionth time that day, the picture of Nate with his arms wrapped around Tess flashed through my mind. I pulled away from him quickly, regretting it when I saw the look of hurt flash across his face. But I ignored it and barreled ahead.

"Nate, explain to me, please. She's more to you than what you're telling me. Right? Then, what does that make me? Am I your friend? Because friends don't feel this, this—" I waved my hands in the air, trying to find the word. "This feeling. This _connection. _Friends don't hug each other the way you just hugged me. Friends don't look at each other the way you look at me. And friends don't feel the way I did when I saw you kiss Tess. Friends don't feel this confused about what they are! Because I'm confused Nate, I'm confused and I'm … I'm _scared."_

Nate leaned forward and pulled me into a hug again, and I didn't try to fight back. I just cried into his chest. "Don't be. I'm sorry I'm doing this to you Mary. And I think I'm confused too. I don't know what we are... but I know what I want us to be."

I felt like my throat tightened. It seemed like a million scenarios flashed through my mind in that one moment. What did Nate want us to be? The most obvious one, was to be more than just friends. The second one, was to be _just _friends. And the most ridiculous one, was he wanted me to be his maid.

I fingered the buttons on my uniform, suddenly conscious of what I was wearing. Although I highly doubted he wanted me to be his maid, it was still… a possibility wasn't it? No matter how ridiculous the idea was.

He shifted his head so that his nose and lips were in my hair. I shivered some more.

"What… do you want us to be then," My voice shook.

"I want to be someone you can come to when you cry. I want to protect you from those people that hurt you. I want to make you feel safe, unafraid. Fearless. I want to be able to go to you when there's no one else I can go to." He paused for a moment, as if he was struggling for words.

The only sounds in the room were the ticking of the clock and the uneven rapid breathing of the both of us.

"And I know I've only known you, _really _known you, for a day. And I know this seems stupid and crazy, something that only kindergarteners do. And you're right. Friends don't do all of that. And I know I'm probably going mad, but just looking at you, it drives me insane anyway."

I smiled a bit.

"You're crazy," I whispered.

"I know I am." I could feel his lips smile in my hair as they brushed my skin.

"But I love being crazy. I love being crazy with you. And I'm ready to get to know you Mary. I… I want to be more than just a friend. I want to be so much more."

I smiled and closed my eyes. It felt like I was melting in his grasp. He was so gentle and sincere. He wanted to be more than just friends. He wanted to be with me _for _me.

"I… I don't think anyone's made me feel this way." I replied.

"Is that a yes?"

"I think so."

He heaved a sigh of relief and kissed my hair.

Mitchie's POV

"Do you think they've made up yet?" I asked as I flipped through random TV channels. You'd think that with all the channels that Shane had, I would have found a program that was interesting. But it was kind of hard concentrating with Shane breathing in my ear and his arm draped around my shoulders, his fingers playing with my hair.

"Stop that! You're trying to distract me, don't think I can't tell Shane," I tried to pout but I couldn't resist the temptation to smile and I grinned. Shane sighed and his warm breath was like a matchstick that sparked something inside of me.

"It's been really long since Camp, Mitchie. I've missed you," I laughed at this. "You missed me? You called me every day, texted every second. You were like a paranoid pop star." I teased.

Shane just laughed and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Paranoid only because I knew that _you_ being you, you probably wouldn't be mine anymore when I came back."

I blushed. "Who said I belonged to anyone? I'm not merchandise! I'm my own person," I said, finally placing down the remote when I stopped at MTV. "Anyway, I missed you Mitchie. And every night, I drive myself crazy thinking of what could have happened that time after Final Jam."

I rolled my eyes. Shane had only mentioned it a thousand times. But he was right. I spent a lot of time after camp wondering what would have happened. After Final Jam I had gone down to the canoes to meet up with Shane. We had a nice talk… that ended, _almost, _with a kiss. But I wasn't that lucky and my mom came out to call me in before we actually did kiss.

I had grown out of the infatuation with the Final Jam thing, but since Shane had come back, it was getting hard to forget what could have been.

"At least we're still together?" I offered. We hadn't had our first kiss yet, minus all the forehead and cheek kisses. We were official, I guess what they would call an _item. _And we felt something for each other. We just… were afraid to get in too deep.

"At least we're still together." He nodded his head firmly and turned his attention to the TV, his hand still twirling my hair around his fingers. Their latest music video, Lovebug, came on. I laughed. It was weird seeing someone you knew on the television set, especially when they were sitting right next to you.

"It's ruining the moment," He said, his brow furrowing. "The music? What moment?" I asked. I was kind of teasing him, but I didn't really get what he meant. As far as I could tell, the romance in the room was at a minimum.

The music video ended and I turned around to place my head on Shane's chest. "That's a nice song." I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth from Shane radiate and surround me. It had been so long without him, and everything didn't feel right when he was gone. Now he was here for a break, and it still didn't feel right. And I knew why.

"I don't want you to leave," I muttered, my eyes still closed.

I could feel Shane shift underneath me and I turned so I was lying with my face directly under his.

"Who's talking about leaving? I just got here, Mitchie," He stroked my hair slowly, smiling reassuringly at me.

"But who knows how long this is going to last? I don't want to get closer and closer to you if it means you have to leave me again." I argued.

I thought about this a lot before Shane came. It was funny, before Camp Rock, if I was in this situation, I wouldn't have thought twice about this. But since then, I had become… I don't know. A lot more serious. And a lot more scared.

"In a way, I was always with you. In a phone call, a text, an email," He placed his hand over his heart. "In here," I smiled and raised one hand placing it over his.

"I know I shouldn't be worried about this, I should just soak in the moment," I whispered. It was easier said than done. How long would I be staring at his face, before I had to imagine it? How long until I would have to be reduced to talking to a poster instead? Or even worse, talking to an empty space, expecting a response from _air. _

Shane moved me to a sitting position, waking me from my thoughts. "This is a nice song." Shane must have sensed my distress, so he was trying to change the topic. I looked to the TV and saw a video of an orchestra playing some slow waltz. Shane stood up and bowed slightly to me, his right hand held out.

I grinned and jumped up, wrapping my arms around his neck. I didn't know how to waltz, and I bet my guitar Shane didn't either. But it was nice pretending. Shane laughed a bit and placed his hand on my waist as we moved to the music.

For musicians, we weren't very good at dancing to the beat. But the moment was magical, as we stared into each other's eyes, seeing the fireworks dance inside each of us at our every move, our every touch. Even if we were dancing offbeat to the music of a television set.

But for a moment, it was just the two of us, dancing in a big living room with white concrete walls, a tall ceiling and a room illuminated by lights in the walls. Now I knew why Shane, Nate and Jason had wanted to buy this house. With the right person, it was romantic.

With the right person, it was perfect.

Every second, Shane seemed to lean a bit closer to me. Halfway through the song, just as our lips brushed slightly against each other, the doorbell rang. "Not again," Shane breathed.

I laughed, still shaken from our almost first kiss. We had a lot of false alarms before, but this time had felt like we really were going to do it. Apparently not. Things were so much more complicated with a popstar.

I pulled away from him. "Just… wait a minute," He pulled me closer to him. I laughed and placed on finger on his lips. "Another time, Mr. Paranoid," I giggled and turned to walk to the door.

Shane suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against him, leaning down quickly and planting a quick peck on my cheek.

"Don't be gone too long, Mitchie," He whispered in my ear. "You are so cheesy, Shane," I grinned at him and took his hand in my mine. "Wouldn't it be much better if we just opened the door _together?" _

Shane laughed and followed me. We walked to the door and I placed my hand on the doorknob. It was super cold. I turned to smile at Shane. I wasn't all too crazy about being interrupted in our little 'moment'. Again, whatever that meant.

But for some reason, Shane's face was shocked and worried. Sad for me, I didn't have very good reflexes and opened the door.

And I wonder why I call Tami and Mary klutzes.

**So that's it! Did you like it? (im sorry live-in-dreamland1, I didn't lock them up in a cupboard.) please review! My previous chapter didn't get much so im sad ):**

**I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Love  
CauseimFearless**


	14. Chapter 14

**D: I'm feeling ultra sad. I seriously think I'm losing readers for this story. Is it too boring? Anyway, thank you to the people that make me open the MS work regardless of how many reviews, alerts I got: Burning-up-for-you-baby for reviewing (i was trying to give each pairing a kind of character… and I got stuck on smitchie so I tried not to make it too long… sorry ]: ) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (im so glad you think that way of my story! Your review made me smile so much!) kkckat3 for reviewing (you seriously give the best reviews, did you know that? Thank you for your review, it was really… it brightened my day and got me writing ;] ) Sugarshinebabyxo for reviewing (sigh… if only I could have one of those amazing Edward Cullen guys ;]) elisabeth2me (thank you! I'm so glad I've gotten another 'I liked it' from you again!) Nani Hanani03 for reviewing (I'm glad that this story makes you want to read more!) azncutiebear3 for reviewing (this chapter will let you find out :] ) nickjonasloverkcg for faving, joe-jonas-girl38 for faving and alerting.**

**Anyway, just wanted to say MY WRITERS BLOCK GOT WORSE (I hate those!) so I hope this chapter is up to standard. And thank you, I've made it to 50+ reviews after I updated this chapt! Enjoy (hopefully!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock**

Chapter 14: When Everything Seems Okay

Mary's POV

"What's this?" I asked as I lifted up a necklace with an imitation Shark tooth hanging from it. "Oh, it's nothing. Just something that Shane and Jason gave me a few years back for my birthday." Nate shrugged.

I turned around and pressed it to the base of his neck lightly, cocking my head to the side to examine it. "It looks good on you," I commented. Nate laughed and pulled me down to sit next to him.

"Let's play a game. Twenty questions." He suggested, gently taking the necklace from my hands and placing it on the bed. I raised an eyebrow playfully. "You're just afraid I'm going to discover something embarrassing while I rummage through your stuff. You probably have an old barney toy here somewhere…"

"Or… I might just want to take the chance to get to know you?" He suggested. I laughed. "You have plenty of time to do that, I want to check out the stuff in your room," I persisted and grabbed the necklace, standing up and heading over to the dresser.

Nate was too fast for me and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back down on the bed. "Twenty questions," he said it more like a command than anything else. I sighed and put the necklace down.

"If that's what makes you happy." Nate smiled, a big grin that stretched from ear to ear. Suddenly, I knew why he wore that geeky shirt that said 'do not read me'. "I get to go first!" Nate exclaimed. I crossed my arms in mock hurt.

"No fair!" He shrugged. "No one plays fair in kindergarten." I rolled my eyes, feeling my heart flutter just from being so near him. "Kids in kindergarten _so _play fair." I argued. "Oh really?" Nate asked me mischievously and he lunged after me.

I squealed as Nate tickled me, laughing so hard it hurt. "Okay, okay! You can go first!" I protested. He stopped and we both stayed still for a little bit, lying on his huge bed, breathing heavily and laughing uncontrollably.

After several minutes, the both of us had calmed down and we shifted to our sides, our heads resting in our palms as we stared at each other. "First question?" I asked.

"First question. Why are you wearing that?" He looked at my maid uniform, his eyes not disgusted as I would have imagined, but intrigued. He must have thought I was some cosplaying obsessive teen.

"It's… well it's a really long story Nate," I said, making a point to stare at the clock for a long time. Nate reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand, gently turning my head back to him.

"Is there something that you're not telling me?" He asked. I nodded and groaned. "It's not exactly a story you tell to someone you just met. It's like I'm asking for pity or something. And I hate that. I've been through a lot, and I guess. I don't know. I just like to depend on myself."

"You can depend on me," Nate asked, his voice hopeful. I smiled at him. "It's weird, I've only known you for so long, but it feels like it's been forever. For some reason… I know I can trust you." I closed my eyes and leaned towards Nate, letting him wrap his arms around me in a hug.

"So… are you going to pass the question?" He asked me. I was quiet for a while, listening to the steady beat of his heart. "I think… I'll answer. Let's make a deal. No secrets from each other. Ever. Promise?" I looked up at him, grinning to myself.

"Promise." He nodded his head.

I looked back down again and turned around, so my back was leaning against him, his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Well my mom, she died when I was ten. Cancer. You know… and then my Dad, he thought I needed a mom, some form of a mom anyway. He was never good at these kinds of things. Naturally, he met someone else. And for once, ever since my mom died, he smiled. I forgot what he looked like happy, and suddenly he just was. Because he met Dominique. Then, after he married her, he died. Cancer too. It's like I'm haunted by it."

"I'm sorry," Nate whispered in my ear.

"I am too. I guess, I don't know. My life is just sad, all the time. Dominique and her evil daughters hate me, so I'm nothing but… I'm nothing but a maid to them. I'm a jinx aren't I Nate? Everyone around me always seems to leave…" My voice cracked and I started crying again.

I was right. I was a jinx. Everything that happened in my life, what was there to be proud of? I was letting myself get kicked around, only escaping in music. But what good would that do? Nothing.

"Maybe it's better if you don't get involved with me," I started, pulling away from Nate. "No." Nate said it like it was sentence all on its own. Like that one word said a lot. In a way, it kind of did. He reached out to me and hugged me again.

"No. Don't _ever _say that." He said, running his fingers through my hair, letting me get all my wet tears soak his shirt. "You're not a jinx. And anyone that makes you think you are is an idiot." I laughed. "So now I'm an idiot?"

"You know what I mean Mary." I wrapped my arms around him, in our first official hug. Most of the time it had just been Nate with his arms wrapped around me while I cried. "I know what you mean."

Nate chuckled. "Glad that's over. Besides, even if you were a jinx, you've still be _my _jinx." I couldn't help but smile a bit.

"That's not even funny, Nate." I tried to complain. Nate pulled away from me slightly and looked at my beaming face. "Well, you seem to be laughing." I forced myself to frown and buried my face in his t-shirt again.

"Promise. Promise me again." I said, gripping a big chunk of his shirt in my hand. Nate pulled away from me again and put one hand under my chin, lifting my face slightly to meet him. "What do you want me to promise?"

"No secrets, and that for a while, you're never going to leave me." It seemed ludicrous, asking him to make such a stupid promise. We were only sixteen. It wasn't as if we had found true love or anything, we had only known each other for so long.

But still, hugging him right now seemed like the most perfect thing in the world. Even if we were sixteen, it still felt like I had found true love. No matter how cheesy or weird or absolutely disgusting it might seem, it really felt like I had.

"I promise. I'm going to never leave you." He whispered back before he pulled me into a hug again.

I had found Nate.

Nate had found me.

We found each other.

--

Jasons POV

"So you're saying that you just _bought_ this house for the break?" Tami asked me in disbelief. She was sitting next to me at the edge of the pool, her legs swinging slowly in the pool water, her tanned skin illuminated by the pool lights.

I shrugged. "We thought it'd be good to buy a nice house, seeing as how Shane is so obsessed with Mitchie, we figured we've come back here more times than usual." I grinned at her. "Especially since Nate and I have reasons to come back too." Tami blushed.

For a moment, I was captivated by the colour of her cheeks, how, when she blushed, her whole face seemed to brighten. Unknowingly I lifted a finger and brushed it along her cheekbone, before realizing what I was doing.

Quickly, I dropped my hand, horrified at what I had done. Had I stepped out of her comfort zone? "Sorry," I quickly apologized. Tami smiled at me and lifted my hand, pressing it to her cheek again. This time I was the one who blushed. _C'mon, be a man, Jason! Be a man! _

"It's okay, I don't mind," Tami reassured me. I blushed some more. _Dang it. I'm a lost cause. _"Can I see the rest of your backyard?" Tami asked me, as she stood up, her legs dripping wet and glistening under the porch lights.

I followed her and took her hand in mine. Her skin was soft and cool against mine. Like fire and ice, I thought as I headed around the back. "Do you want to get your shoes first?" I asked at the edge of the grass. For a brief moment, I pictured myself carrying Tami bridal style in my arms as I trudged through the backyard. Like I was Indiana Jones. In spite of myself, I grinned.

I was glad Tami wasn't a mind-reader. If she knew all the things that were going through my mind right now, she probably would have run away. "No, it's okay, I don't mind going barefoot." I smiled at her and we started walking through the pine trees.

"Your house has a… forest kind of feeling." Tami said as we walked under the shade, our shadows light and long by the moonlight. I shrugged. "It attracts more birds." Tami nodded slowly, like she was a student I was teaching all of these bird facts to.

I tried to remember when I had met a girl that seemed to understand me. Come to think of it, I had never met a girl just like Tami. I tightened my grip on her hand, suddenly feeling unwilling to let go of her.

We walked in silence for a while longer, until we were nearing the road. Suddenly, Tami gasped and stopped walking. I turned around to see her face a mask of confusion and fear. "Tami are you okay?" I asked as I rushed to her.

"Oh no. _Oh_ no." She muttered to herself as she stared at the street. I turned around and saw a black car park just outside the driveway to my house. I didn't remember inviting anyone over today. "I have to go," Tami said urgently, although she was still standing rooted to the ground, staring at the car.

I pushed her behind me, one of my hands sliding down her arm to hold hers, the other wrapped around the small of her back. "Who's that?" I asked her. "Someone you should be afraid of," Tami said as she stood out from behind me, her hand giving mine a quick squeeze.

"And someone who shouldn't know I'm here." She added. "He probably does though, since he's most likely seen my car."

I turned to her. Who in the world was Tami talking about?

"Who is _he?"_

I heard the car door open and slam close, as Tami's eyes grew wide with horror.

"Jason," She turned to me and smiled feebly.

"Get ready to meet my dad."

--

Nate's POV

I was so angry. Furious. I could feel the anger bubbling inside of me, and it was all I could do to just storm out of my room, run down to my car and drive to wherever Mary lived and give a piece of my mind to whoever was controlling Mary like this.

"What's her name?" I asked Mary through clenched teeth. Mary shook her head and placed a hand over my clenched fist. "I knew I shouldn't have told you about my stepmom. Just… breathe, Nate. No one's handled it as bad as you." She joked, smiling at me. I sighed and relaxed. "Mary, what's her name, _please," _I said again, trying to sound like I was less than interested.

Mary squinted at me for a moment. I had realized in the past few minutes that that was what she did when she was skeptical of something._"_ It's Dominique_," _she said while still staring at me. It was as if she was telling me to not think of any 'funny' ideas.

I calmed down a bit. That was the least I could do for Mary.

"So you're saying she just makes you wear that because she _wants _you to? That's ridiculous!" Mary shrugged and tried to smile at me again. She was trying to calm me down. It really wasn't working. "I mean… I uh…" She played with one of the buttons on her uniform and shrugged again. "It's comfortable… it's like pajamas…"

I couldn't resist how cute she looked while she played with her uniform and I pulled her into a hug. "That's past the point, Mary. It's the way she treats you, I just can't stand it." I looked down at her face just as she looked up at me.

It was weird, how I could be so extremely angry and suddenly feel so… calm and peaceful. That was what Mary could do to me. She was like an antidote for whenever I was feeling angry or frustrated.

"Nate?"I snapped back to reality and looked down at her, smiling. I hadn't even realized I had blanked out. Shane and Jason were right— I _was_ out of it these days. But it was worth it. "Nate, someone just rang the doorbell. Can we go see who it is?"

I laughed. "You're really bored aren't you?" Mary giggled and slid off the bed, stopping at the door and turning around to face me. "You know, for a pop star you're pretty slow." She grinned at me and walked out the door.

That girl drove me crazy.

I leaped off the bed and raced after her. The hall was unlit and dark and I could barely see ahead of me. Who turned off all the lights? I ended up nearly stumbling over Mary. She was kneeling on the carpet and peering through the gaps in the staircase railings. "Mary? What the—"

"Shh!" She whispered and pulled me down to kneel on the carpet next to her. "What it is?" Mary shook her head and pointed at the door. Mitchie and Shane were standing in front of four people. The both of them had their hands up in front of their chests in a kind of defensive position. _The both of them have really cracked haven't they?_

I studied the new guests we had. One was a middle-aged man in a black suit, but he looked laid back and relaxed, like he was carrying a fatherly image. The other two were girls that looked my age. Both of them were wearing matching dresses, they just varied in color. Twins. Definitely. And the tallest of the four—only because her heels were incredibly unbelievable—was a woman in a tight purple dress that flared out at her knees in pink ruffles. She had thick blonde hair piled up so high on her head I wondered how she could balance it all.

Then, suddenly I remembered what Shane had told Jason and me just yesterday_. "Some agent called us wondering if we would like to do a duet with this lady called Dominique. She's coming over to our house tomorrow night, after school."_

How could Jason and Shane have forgotten? I looked down at Mary, who was frozen in shock. Her eyes were wide with… fear? "Mary?" I asked, turning my attention to her. She was trembling.

_Some agent called us wondering if we would like to do a duet with this lady called Dominique. _

Dominique. Why was that so familiar?

"_Mary, what's her name, please?" _

"_It's Dominique."_

Dominique. Dominique as in the 'comeback Dominique'.

Dominique as in _Marys _Dominique?

I turned to look at Mary and she was staring right back at me. "Mary." I said again. What was I saying her name for? It wasn't going to change the situation.

Mary's lips moved soundlessly, forming words I couldn't hear. Suddenly, she reached up and grabbed two clumps of my shirt in her hands.

"Nate," Her voice was shaking and desperate.

"You have to get me out of here."

**Did you like it? Ohh please say you do! And review. Please! **

**Love  
CauseimFearless**

PS.**Someone please help me! I know this is extremely stupid to ask but, you know in the document manager? And they show all your documents. And then there's a column that says life and they show a no. of days? What in the world does that mean? Thank you :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you to all my lovely readers, I'm getting more feedback again! Just reading the reviews make me feel like 2009 is going to be another special year. So thank you to the people who reviewed and made me smile! Thank you to: NANI Hanani03 for reviewing (thank you for constantly reviewing!) Dancingwithwings15 for reviewing (im glad you love it and thank you so much for telling me!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (thank you for your suggestions ;) Truthfully, this is the first romance story I've ever written, so I thought it would be too early to have them kiss…) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thank you! Hopefully my writers block is going to fly away very soon!) kkckat3 for reviewing (your review was so funny and sweet! Thank you! ) tessa411 for reviewing ( its okay you didn't review last time. Haha. Im glad you liked it!) inluvwithtv for alerting and reviewing (haha you shall see what I doooo!) XDPurpleTiggersXD for alerting both the story and me, faving, faving me, and reviewing (haha. You're so nice! Thank you!) Moonlite-is-the-sign-of-angels for faving.**

**That's it! It's longer, yeah? Hopefully! I know you're all expecting some drama, but I've been so busy lately, so I hope that this is good enough for you! Oh yes, I'm not so sure if I can update as often anymore. The reason? School (the root of all evil) is starting. Haha. Please (hopefully) enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock.**

Chapter 15: Escape?

Shane's POV

The first thing I saw was a tall lady, who would be about my height if she didn't wear those crazy retro heels. The second thing I saw was her dress, which could pretty much blind even the blind. It was tight fitting—I will never be the same again after seeing that—and flared out at her knees into layers upon layers of rustling pink fishnet.

How did that lady walk in that dress? She cleared her throat loudly and pursed her lips at me. "Are you inviting us in?" I was slightly taken aback by her sudden gesture, which seemed rude to me.

Quickly, I stepped to the side to let in the host that was standing at the door. I shook my head sadly to myself, silently berating the three of us—Nate, Jason and I—for forgetting about the conference we were going to have tonight.

Across from me, Mitchie was holding the door. Her eyes were narrowed as they glared at me while the guests walked by into the living room. When they were all in the house, she slammed the door shut and didn't even wince when the sound echoed through the house.

She spun around on her heel and closed the gap between us in one step. "Behind the house. Now Shane," She said then turned to the guests and ushered them to their seats. "Please, make yourself at home—" I could almost guess what she would have added, "_Not too at home, thank you very much." _

"Shane and I will be right back with food and beverages." She turned around, jerked her head in the direction of the backyard and I followed after her quickly, smiling at the guests before leaving.

Finally, when we were hidden behind the corner, huddled at the glass sliding door that opened to the garden, Mitchie stopped. "Do you know who's out there?" She asked angrily, glancing behind my shoulder, as if she was making sure there was no one following us.

"A lady named Dominique… she's here to discuss a duet—"

"And she's here with my dad," I heard someone else add. Mitchie almost screamed but I cupped a hand over her mouth and turned around, heaving a sigh of relief when I saw it was Tami standing behind me.

"Wait, that guy in the suit's your dad?" I asked in disbelief. Tami looked nothing like him. Mitchie slapped my arm and I quickly removed it from her mouth. "Sorry Mitchie." She gasped for air and pushed away from me to talk to Tami.

"Tami, your dad is not the biggest problem we have here." She whispered just loud enough for me and Jason—who had just joined us—to hear. For a minute Tami looked shocked and hurt. But suddenly, her mouth formed an 'o'.

'_What's going on?' _ I mouthed to Jason. He shrugged. "Tami, Dominique is here," Mitchie whispered; this time she sounded more crazed. "_She's _here?" Tami asked, her hand flying up to cover her mouth in shock.

I couldn't take the suspense anymore. "Who's here?" I almost shouted. This time it was Mitchie who covered my mouth with her hand. "Mary's guardian. _The _Domifreak is in your living room as we speak."

Domifreak? As in the tyrant that was Mary's guardian? Mitchie had only mentioned her, and her daughters, a million times. I had imagined some bent old lady with a crooked cane and a humongous wart. Not the sparkly diamond-studded mermaid dressed woman that was in my house. But either way, both descriptions seemed to fit this Domifreak.

"Cut the Sherlock language, Mitch. What are we going to do? Mary's still here!" Tami interrupted, and then turned in horror towards the direction of the stairs. We could hear two loud high-pitched voices shrieking at the top of their lungs.

"Me first—"

"I'm older, me!"

"The twins," Mitchie said bitterly. Then froze—all of us did—when we heard two pairs of footsteps trample up the stairs.

To the second floor.

Where Mary was.

--

Mary's POV

What was Dominique doing here? I clenched the stair railings until my knuckles turned white. I was trembling with fear. If she, or the twins, found me here, especially in Connect Threes house, who knew what she would do to me?

I shot up immediately and grabbed clumps of Nate's shirt—Nate was kneeling next to me—and shook him, hard. But a gentle sort of hard, if that made any sense. "Nate, you have to get me out of here." I whispered fervently. I turned in horror to watch helplessly as Mitchie and Shane stepped aside to let Dominique in. _No, don't let her come in here! Mitchie! _

I silently willed as tears began to roll down my cheeks. But Mitchie and I hadn't really practiced any form of telepathy before, so naturally, she couldn't 'hear' me. I pushed myself against the railings to get a better look through my blurry vision.

"Mary…" Nate said as he tugged lightly on my shoulder. _C'mon Mary. Move your legs! C'mon! _ But my body didn't seem to obey. And I realized subconsciously, was this it? After my brief fleeting moment of freedom, was I going to get locked in again?

The twins followed behind Dominique, and then, a man clad in a black suit. Her agent most likely. And with a shock of realization I pulled back. Wasn't Dominique's agent _Tami's _dad? I felt like shriveling up and dying right there.

Just because of me, selfish, idiotic, stupid, sentimental me, Tami had to get dragged into this mess. Sure, her dad was a thousand times better than Dominique, but still, Tami would probably be forbidden by him to see anyone from Connect Three ever again.

She wouldn't be able to see Jason.

I could feel Nate wrap his arms around me. "Shh, Mary. Calm down." I shook my head. Wasn't I being such a baby, making such a big deal out of this? But why did it seem that every time I had that one happy moment, that one moment where I felt I belonged, it always seemed to get interrupted. I was right. I was a jinx.

"Mary!" Nate whispered in my ear urgently. I jolted. "Mary!" Nate quietly urged again. But instead of waiting for my response, he scooped me up in his arms and stood up. "Nate! Put me down!" I whispered back angrily.

It'd be enough for Dominique to see me in Connect Three's house, but being carried by one of them? Not good on the agenda. "Not now…" Nate said back to me and I turned my head just in time to hear two pairs of footsteps on the stairs accompanied by the two most annoying voices in the world.

Breah and Bianca.

I had been so absorbed in watching Dominique's movements that I hadn't realized the twins were coming up to the second level.

I heard another pair of lighter footsteps then. More graceful. It was either Mitchie or Tami. "Wait! Where do you think you're going?" It was Mitchie. "Wait—ow! " I heard a thump and the footsteps continued. I looked ahead of us. Nate's bedroom was at the furthest end. We couldn't possibly make it into his bedroom before the twins saw us. Why was his house so big? "In here!" Nate said and put me down, pulling open a random door and gently pushing me inside… a closet?

I tumbled into the closet and turned around so my back was up against the wall. Nate stumbled in after me and the door closed behind him. The closet was so small that he had to lean over me, his arms resting against the wall just above my head.

The only light in the closet was the one that was filtering from the crack at the bottom of the door. Someone must have turned on the lights in the hallway. Nate shifted uncomfortable in the small space and I pressed myself closer to the wall to give him more room.

I looked down at the crack beneath the door and saw two shadows stop right outside.

"I think I saw this door open and close just now…"

I gasped in shock and buried my face in Nate's chest, too afraid to see the door open. _Please, please, please, no. _

"Oh, hey Nate!" I heard Mitchie shout from somewhere farther down the hall. "Nate? Where?" Bianca squealed. "Stairs!" Mitchie squealed back excitedly.

I could almost imagine her jumping up and down while she rolled her eyes. I pulled back and saw the two shadows walk away. Nate and I heaved a sigh of relief and Nate turned around to open the door. The lights in the hallway were out again.

"Get out of here! I'm sending Tami to the car now, meet her a block away," Mitchie whispered.

"Good luck," Mitchie nodded her head in our general direction—she probably didn't know where we were since it was so dark— and turned to walk down the stairs. I laughed quietly to myself. Mitchie was in Sherlock mode alright. Nate and I turned and walked to the end of the corridor. "Window?" I asked him hopefully.

"Window," He replied firmly. "But the patio in my room is the only one with a tree outside, which is safer for you than just dropping two levels. And you can't go downstairs." I nodded. "Window in your room with a tree. Awesome."

Nate chuckled to himself and went into his room, flipping on the light switch. I reached over and put the lights at minimum, so it wouldn't be too obvious that someone was using this room. If Bianca and Breah came back up and saw the light from underneath the door, we would be in so much trouble.

Nate strode across the room to two large glass doors that I hadn't realized were there earlier. They were tall and reached up to the ceiling, with long, thin, white curtains that fell down in folds.

Nate pulled them apart and opened one of the doors. A sudden cold gust of wind blew in and I shivered. "How far away is the tree?" I asked as I rubbed my hands together. Nate walked out to the patio and surveyed the large tree that was growing right outside his window.

Well, it was more of a porch patio thing than it was a window.

"I'm not sure if you can reach it." He answered my skeptically. I cocked my head to the side and grinned playfully. "I'm not that short, Nate." He sighed and pulled me into a hug. "I don't want you doing this, Mary. It's too dangerous."

I pulled away and walked to the edge of the patio, leaning over to see how far up we were. "It's only the second floor Nate," I answered when I was satisfied that if I fell, it most likely wouldn't kill me.

I walked over to Nate and cupped his face in my hands. "Don't worry about me, Nate. I can do this." I brought my hands down to rest on his shoulders and laid my head on his chest. "Believe in me."

Nate sighed and ran his fingers through my hair. "I do. I just… what if you get hurt?" I laughed. "You're making a mountain out of an ant hill, Nate." From below I could hear Dominique laughing loudly. Probably at some cheesy joke she made that she thought was drop dead hilarious.

"Let's do this." I grinned at Nate. I looked up above our heads to see one of the tree branches. It was long and just wide enough for me to grab onto. Nate followed my gaze, then stepped back and looked me up and down.

I raised my eyebrow. "What are you doing, Nate?" He laughed to himself. "Déjà vu." I shot him a weird look. "What?" Nate reached both of his hands out to me and placed them together like a platform. He looked up at me and grinned. "Déjà vu."

I stood still for a heartbeat, still too dense to realize what he meant. Then suddenly, it felt like the patio, the tree and the sounds of Dominique's laughter faded out and melted into nothingness. Instead, Nate and I were surrounded by hedges, tall, gorgeous, green hedges.

And then, as soon as the mirage had come, it disappeared and we were standing on the patio again. "Déjà vu," I whispered. I couldn't help but smile as my lips formed those two words. Silently, I slipped off my 'maid ballet shoes'. Although I knew they were light, there were two pieces of metal on the left shoe and I knew it would hurt Nate's hands if I stepped on them with my left shoe on.

I carefully dropped them over the edge and turned to face Nate. "See you tomorrow?" I asked hopefully, then silently added, _with no Tess. _He smiled at me and for the thousandth time that day I felt my heart skip a beat.

He bent down on one knee and held out his hands. "Tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. And every day after the day before." I smiled at him as I gently placed my hands on his shoulder.

"Tomorrow." I said again and I lifted myself up on his hands. I reached up to try and grab the branch. "Higher Nate," I grunted. He shifted his hands a bit, and I almost lost balance. But not because he had adjusted his hands.

No it was much worse than that. Outside, I could hear a knock on Nate's bedroom door and a high-pitched squeaky voice ask, "Nate?"

One word. Bianca.

**That's it! Oh yes and I've found out what the 'life' thingamajig means (thanks to the wonderful review from dancingwithwings15) lets all clap for her shall we? *Clap clap!* haha. It shows how many days you have left until the document is deleted from the document manager, although the story still remains posted. I think that's it.**

**So school is starting tomorrow! Ah! I'll try and update as often as I can! Review please!  
**

**Love  
CauseimFearless**

P.S I've decided to change the story rating from T to K+ because this story seems to be okay for K+. So… I don't even know why I'm saying this haha.


	16. Chapter 16

**Yes! I managed to get up a document today! (hopefully I'll be able to update every Wednesdays and Saturdays) Thank you to all the people that did their stuff and made me smile after a grueesomee day of school. (ughh) Thanks to: live-dreamland1 for reviewing (I'll try to update as often as I can ;) ) elisabeth2me for reviewing (haha I highly doubt im going to have fun in school. Eughh..) XDPurpleTiggersXD for reviewing (im so glad you liked it!) kkckat3 for reviewing ( gosh, I can always count on a long review from you! Haha I love your reviews!) Suagrshinebabyxo for reviewing (thank you, your review was sooo nice) utmy123 for alerting, faving and reviewing (thanks, I hope you continue to like it!) supersupernaturalgirl for alerting and reviewing (haha, im glad you liked it so much that you just couldn't wait to review) Ai102 for alerting and reviewing (I hope this is soon enough for you ;) ) dancinggirl42609 for alerting and reviewing (phew, glad you loved it!) and faving.**

**Yes, so I wrote this in a really anxious state, I was in a rush, and I don't think I'll have time to update tomorrow or Monday so I decided to barrel ahead. So im am super super sorry for any grammer mistakes and If this chapter doesn't flow too much.**

**Please (hopefully) enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock**

Chapter 16:

--  
Tami's POV

"I am so dead. I am so _incredibly _dead." I groaned for the fifth time that minute as I peered around the corner at my dad. I could feel my cheeks flush with anger and fear as he conversed with Dominique, the evil witch of California.

"No you're not. And you definitely won't be if you come with me _right now." _Jason urged again, his hands tugging lightly on my shoulder. I absentmindedly patted his hand to reassure him that everything would be okay as I continued to eavesdrop.

"Mary's my maid, she's not Tami's friend. She doesn't even know Tami. Whatever your daughter is telling you is a _lie," _Dominique drawled. I clenched my fists together angrily. How dare she say that! I mean I don't lie, well not unless extremely necessary—and that's rarely ever—and Mary was definitely _not _a maid!

"I'll talk to her when I get back," Dad replied firmly. His glance fluttered once to the window, with the curtains still drawn. I felt a rush of relief when I realized since it was so dark out, my truck might not have been as recognizable.

I sighed and pressed myself up against the wall, looking up at the stairs. Mitchie and the rest of us had rushed out the minute we heard Bianca and Breah trampling up to the second floor. They sounded like a herd of elephants, it was hard to miss.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?" Mitchie demanded. She had run past me while I eavesdropped and had pushed Bianca and Breah out of the way. She stood in front of them, her arms spread out in a command. Dad and Dominique stopped their conversation. I looked up and saw Mary getting carried by Nate at the top of the stairs. _C'mon, get going you two!_

They disappeared out of sight and I turned my attention to Bianca and Breah. "This is so not your house, loser," Bianca spat then she pushed Mitchie to the side. Her arm knocked against the railing and she tumbled down a few steps. "Ow!"

I gasped loudly, my heart beating with adrenaline. "How dare they?" I whispered angrily at Jason. He had his hands on my shoulders, restraining me as I tried to run out to the living room. As much as I knew that it would be suicidal to let my dad see me, how could I let all my other friends struggle?

"Don't," Jason said warningly. "Don't."

I shook my head as Mitchie ran up the stairs in pursuit. "Poor Mary," I choked. "If you really feel sad for her, then help her. Tami you need to come with me." Jason repeated. I shrugged his hand away in a moment of anger. Ugh, nothing was going right.

"What happened?" Shane panted. I turned around, my eyes sparkling with tears. He looked disheveled, balancing one tray with drinks on one hand, the other struggling to grapple with bags of chips.

"They pushed Mitchie!" I said, pushing air with my hands, demonstrating it to Shane. "They _what?" _He asked in disbelief, his hand tightening on the chips. I could hear them cracking with the impact of the force. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Jason said quickly, ushering him into the other room. "Wait for me," He whispered back. "And don't do anything reckless," He added before he disappeared around the corner. I sighed and leaned back against the wall. Nothing was going right! If only I could do something.

I looked up when I heard two pairs of footsteps run down the stairs. "Where's Nate?" Breah asked in confusion. "That dork said he was here." "You idiot, that loser lied!" Bianca retorted back before she smoothed her hair.

They both made a sound like 'hmph' before turning to strut towards the room. I rolled my eyes. They were so… ugh. No word could describe them, or their mom. "Meet Mary one block away," I heard Mitchie whisper at me.

I looked up to see her peering at me through the railings. I hadn't realized she had come down. She smiled. "Everything is going to be fine. Just fine, Tami. One block away." I nodded. Why did it suddenly seem that Mitchie had it made? In this time of need, shouldn't I, the oldest of us three, be the one to help? But no, it was Mitchie. I was so useless.

"Are you okay?" I asked her when I saw her cradling her arm. She winced a bit. "Peachy," she shot me a disgusted look before she jerked her head in the twin's directions. "But seriously, who wouldn't be just 'peachy' when you had the world's most annoying toads within arm's reach?" She added sarcastically.

I laughed and beckoned for her to leave. "A block away," I said.

"A block away," she confirmed before disappearing down the hall.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. _Mary, please, please, be okay._

_--_

Jason's POV

"Oh, you must be the old one," Dominique said as she chewed noisily on the chips. I gritted my teeth together and tried to smile at her. "Now, now Dominique, Jason isn't old. In fact, he's younger than you," Her agent added, flashing a big smile at me.

He must have been able to tell who was the bigger star here. Knowing agents, he was trying to sum up at who would make a better 'friend' in this business. Who would introduce him to more clients. So naturally, he would side with us.

Shane let out a restrained laugh after the comment as Dominique flushed a scarlet red. I was surprised I could still see anything on her face after all of that make up. Which looked like it was melting off her face. The mermaid dress—which I still hadn't adjusted to—was making her sweat. A lot.

Dominique choked on her chips and reached over for a glass of water. "Oh, it's you," she added with disdain as Mitchie came in to join us. Mitchie smiled sweetly at her before plopping down next to Shane.

I couldn't help but grin as I saw the annoyed and envious looks on the faces of Dominique's daughters. They weren't too pleased that Shane was attached. I didn't like the looks of them anyway. They looked void of compassion. They probably ate birds for breakfast for all I knew. That would be disgusting, and repulsive.

"Anyway… as I was saying, that Mary would be nothing without me. She'd be dead a long time ago. But I was so nice to continue to help her grow up, even after her sickly father died." Dominique laughed loudly, looking up to grin at Mitchie, as if she was challenging her.

I clenched my fists, feeling Shane tense up next to me. Neither of us had really met Mary, but she seemed nice. If she was best friends with two amazing girls like Mitchie and Tami, I was betting she was just as amazing as they were.

"She wouldn't be nothing! She would only be dead because of you, you evil, digusting, inhuman witch!" I looked up in shock at the direction of the voice. Tami stood at the entrance of the room, her eyes wide with fury. I stood up immediately, rushing to her.

"Tami?" Her dad asked in disbelief as he stared at her, before his eyes narrowed into a killer glare. "Young lady, what in the world are you doing here? You're supposed to be at manners class!"

"Manners class?" Shane and I asked incredulously. Tami made a sound between a choke and sob. Her dad rose. "You and I are going to have a very long talk, especially about your behavior tonight," he threatened before he stalked over to her. "Run!" Tami said to me and grabbed my hand, rushing towards the back of the house.

"Wait!" Tami's dad pursued, followed by Shane and Mitchie. "Go Tami!" Mitchie called after us as they followed. "Wait, what about the duet?" I heard Dominique's voice ask, her heels click clacking on the floor as she struggled to keep up with us. "Mom!" I heard one of her daughters, Breah I believe, whine as she followed.

I looked back as we ran through the garden, watching everyone squeeze out the glass doors in pursuit. Great, we were like a bunch of birds gone crazy. But then, I realized that one of the other daughters had not come out. She was still in the house!

"In the house, Shane! In the house!" I called over my shoulder. "What?" He shouted back. But it was too late. Tami pulled me around the house and her truck was in view. She flung open the drivers' door and shoved me in.

"Wait, why am I coming—" I argued but she had already climbed in and turned on the ignition. "One block away!" She called out at Mitchie before she reversed and turned down the street, leaving Domininque, Breah, her dad, Mitchie and Shane, panting on the driveway.

--

Mary's POV

"Nate?" I heard Bianca call from the door. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the doorknob turn.

"Uh, wait!" Nate called. I tried to reach for the branch, even jumping. But it was too far and I landed with a thud on the porch. "Wait!" Nate said again. He ran into the room and peeled off his shirt, grabbing another more presentable one and pulling it over him.

"Nate?" I whispered, slightly bewildered and angry. I ran up to him and pulled on his wrists. He groaned and rushed to the door, pressing on the doorknob to lock it. I guessed he didn't do well under pressure. And he was supposed to be famous. "Nate?" Bianca asked again, slightly angrier. "Why are you locking the door?"

"It won't lock," He whispered to me as he struggled with it. "She must be holding the door knob so you can't lock it," I explained as I headed back to the patio. "Nate, please," I said, pointing up to the tree branch.

"Wait," He warned again before rushing to me and placing his hands together. "Be careful," He said to me. I nodded and jumped onto his hands. I didn't realize I was trembling all over. Wonderful. At a time like this, I just had to remember my fear of heights.

"Tomorrow," Nate whispered to me. With a sudden burst of energy, his hands shot up and I jumped, reaching out for the branch. My hands caught onto it and I struggled for a better grip. Carefully, I shuffled my hands so I moved out from above the patio and closer to the trunk.

Nate gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back at him before he turned. And suddenly, we both froze as the door opened. "Hey Nate!" Bianca exclaimed, standing at the doorway, her big mouth turned up in a mischievous grin.

"Didn't I ask you not to come in?" Nate asked angrily as he walked towards her. I stopped moving, afraid any movement would let her see me. Quickly, I brought my face down to stare at the ground, letting my hair cover my face.

Big mistake. My fear of heights got the better of me, and suddenly, it didn't seem like such a short way down. In fact, it seemed longer than I remembered. Without knowing it, I gasped and looked up, only to see Bianca staring at me.

"Oh my god. Isn't that—" And then the impossible happened. Well, not the impossible, but the worst imaginable thing happened. Nate stepped in front of her, grabbed both sides of her face and turned it to him. And then he kissed her.

And of course, me being me, I just had to let go of the tree branch. The last thing I saw was Nate kissing Bianca.

And I was right, it was a longer way down than I had imagined.

**Sorry, this chapter is shorter than previous ones. But I hope it lived up to expectations! I promise for the next chapter I'll try mucho hard to check and edit before I upload it. Oh yes, do you think this story is dragging a bit? Because I have a lot more planned and yet we're already at chapter 16! At this rate, the story is never going to end. Haha.**

**Anyway, please review! It would be greatly appreciated! Heard school in USA is starting, so have fun in school for Americans!**

**Love,  
CauseimFearless**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey! Wow, I am so sorry for not updating in so long! I didn't think I would be this busy. So I am so extremely sorry. Sorry! And I got so many reviews and stuff! I'm sorry I'm still a bit stuck on what should happen next in this story, but please continue to read it!**

**Thank you to the people that encourage me to continue writing: elisabeth2me for reviewing (im sorry that it was rushed ): ) supersupernaturalgirl for reviewing (im glad you loved it!) xsodapopx7 for faving, dancinggirl42609 for reviewing (im glad youre so excited about this!!) utmy123 for reviewing (haha your right, nates kissing too many people D) XDpurpletiggersXD for reviewing (yay you liked it!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (haha I hate the twins too) tessa411 (hopefully I'll improve in the near future, writers block sucks haha) NANI Hanani03 for reviewing (sorry I couldn't update that fast) 101pacey for faving, Zialicious for alerting and reviewing (thanks for that nice review, it's the first time someone's told me I have talent :D) and faving me and the story, vanessadsx for faving me/story, putting me/story on alert and reviewing (im glad you liked it!), Twilightfan59 for faving, alerting, Cassiecaseyox for putting me on alert, faving me, and reviewing (haha I hope you continue to like this story!) faving, alerting, AsitThunders for alerting, and reviewing… twice (I hope this is up to expectations!) Demonkitty2007 for alerting, losergrl181 for faving, alerting, xwritingxisxmyxlifex for faving, xxxlatzxxx for faving, and reviewing (thank you!) Buchworm13 for alerting, a Forgotten Fairy for reviewing (truthfully I have no idea who Bianca is :D) and alerting, WhatRulookinat for alerting, faving me/story, and reviewing (your welcome your welcome your welcome :D haha) HarleyQuinn 14 for alerting, Crazyforreading for alerting, and reviewing (you're one of the few people who tell me im good at writing, thank you :D ) **

**Yes! It's getting longer :D Anyway, this chapter is shorter than my normal. Once again, I really am so sorry. This chapter isn't my best, I am super sorry! Please continue to read it! You make my day, all of you. And hopefully this new chapter will make yours :D Please Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock**

Chapter 17: End of Night

-

Marys POV

"Jason?" I asked incredulously as I rounded the corner and almost ran into him. You would think that since it was so late at night, they would have turned on the street lamps. But only a few were flickering every few feet and I had to squint to see where I was going.

"Mary?" Jason asked me, then heaved a sigh of relief and pulled me into hug. "I was just about to go find you. Tami was freaking out when you didn't come ten minutes ago. She thought Dominique had abducted you." I laughed.

"In those crazy heels? She couldn't catch me even if she tried. Anyway, I'm sorry, I was… I had some difficulty getting here." I smiled sheepishly at him. "She's just parked five minutes or so down the block, right?"

Jason nodded. "Do you want me to follow you?" I shook my head and jerked it in the direction of his house. "Shane and Nate are going to need all the backup they can get. Even the military would be scared at the hands of Dominique."

Jason laughed. "Alright. See you tomorrow okay? Be careful!" He waved, turned and hurried off into the night.

I sighed and leaned myself against a nearby pole. Five more minutes. I looked down at my right foot and tried to move it up and down. I could feel a sharp pain shoot up my leg and I instinctively winced. With my foot like this, it would be another ten more minutes to get to Tami.

I groaned and wiped sweat from my forehead. Tonight was going to be a long night. A very, very, long night.

--

"Mary! I thought I would have to call in the Marines! Or the navy! Or… whatever," Tami complained when I had finally climbed into her truck. I smiled weakly at her, wiping away the cold sweat on my forehead. "Mary?" Tami asked me, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Are you okay? You look… pale." I shook my head and smiled. "I'm fine," I managed to croak out. She bit her lip and shook her head stubbornly. "I've known you far too long." Why was it that Mitchie and Tami always played that card? I sighed.

"I know I know. You know something else is going on, apparently you always do." I teased. She smiled and revved the engine. The Great Pumpkin wheezed to life as we started to rattle down the street.

"Then you should know by now not to lie to me—or Mitchie." I shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to try."

Tami groaned in frustration. "Just tell me what happened." She paused to glance at my feet. "And why is your right foot shoeless?" I could feel my cheeks burn as I blushed. "I twisted it… I think. I'm not sure, but it hurts."

"You did what?" Tami screeched.

"Watch out—Tami pay attention!" I screamed as Tami nearly hit a car. She swerved to the left and shot an apologetic look at the driver when he honked. "Why are you so careless Mary? Didn't Mitchie and I already drill you to take care of yourself? As much as we would like to, we can't always be there to help you Mary! We're trying but we can't be there 24/7!"

I squirmed in my seat and twisted myself to the side to glare at her as she drove. Tami bit her lip determinedly and kept her eyes on the road. "I told you many times, I don't need your help! I feel bad enough as it is troubling you for rides!" I protested.

I had argued with Mitchie and Tami about this endless times. But it was too difficult to convince them— whenever we argued it was always two against one.

"We're your best friends Mary! It's only right we do what we can for each other. You would do the same for us." Her tone had gone accusing. I sunk back into my seat, admitting defeat. They were right; I would do the same for them too. Besides, I was too exhausted—physically and mentally—that I didn't really have the heart for an argument.

I tried to move my right ankle again, but this time the pain was almost unbearable. It left my leg tingling with pain. "Seriously, what happened to your foot?" Tami asked again, leaning over to examine it as she stopped at a red light.

"Oh brilliant, Mary. Just brilliant. It's swollen! What did you do? Talk to Nate by doing flips in the air?" She asked as she sat back up. I groaned. "That wasn't the least bit funny Tami."

She laughed and turned back to the wheel as the light turned green. "You're not doing a very good job of telling me what happened, so I guess I can't exactly guess what did go down. I'm randomly saying what comes to mind."

I rolled my eyes in the dark. It was so hard to stay angry at Tami. She had this way about her. It was her charm. She was nice, and upbeat. I didn't think anyone could stay angry at her for more than five minutes. They would have forgotten they had even argued. Mitchie was the slightly quieter one, but she was still pretty loud. In a good sense. She used to be shy, but ever since she came back from Camp Rock, she was so much more comfortable with herself. I liked it that way. She was happy. She always had a knack of making people happy too. She was just contagious. Maybe that was why Shane had fallen for her. And as for me? I was the quietest in the group. And apparently, the most clumsy.

"I… I kind of… fell off a tree."

Tami scrunched her nose. "You've done weird things before, but you _fell off a tree?_ I'm not going to ask what you were doing _on _a tree in the first place, but… wait what am I saying? Did I just say that?"

I cocked my head to the side as I listened to Tami talk to herself. "You really need to stop doing that Tami." I laughed.

"Not funny Mary." She frowned. "What _were _you doing in a tree?"

I looked at my hands that were resting in my lap. "I was trying to get out of Nate's room. There was no other way… so I was hanging onto the tree branch and Bianca came in… and I fell. When I landed, I landed in an awkward position. I tend to do that, I know Tami, don't even say it. I think I heard a crack. Or something, and the next thing I knew I was lying in the grass, my foot throbbing."

"And Nate didn't help you?" Tami asked incredulously. "Because if he didn't he better not come to school tomorrow."

"He did! Well, he would have. Nate was… preoccupied .He couldn't help it."

"Preoccupied? He was too busy to help out his—I'm just guessing—girlfriend? Too busy to help someone who just fell off a tree?" She scoffed. "Some guy."

"Tami!" I warned. It seemed like I was warning a lot of people these days. "I'm okay, aren't I? He didn't have a choice. Don't blame Nate. I was the one stupid enough to let go of the branch in the first place."

I could tell I was getting angry. And I knew I wasn't getting angry—or frustrated—at Tami. I didn't even know who I was angry at. Was it Nate? I didn't think it was. Sure, I had felt a tinge of anger when I saw him kiss Bianca. But he had done it for me. If he hadn't, I might have been seen by Bianca, and who knows what would have happened then?

Then what was this feeling? It couldn't be jealousy… could it? I was pretty sure I wasn't jealous, I knew enough to know that Nate would never fall for Bianca. For the second time in the past minute, I had to remind myself that Nate had kissed Bianca for me.

He had kissed some other girl to help me.

But I wasn't jealous. I had seen him kiss other girls. I had been hurt, never jealous. It was that connection between us. That strange feeling that drew us to each other. I just _knew _that Nate didn't really kiss them. If it made any sense. He put his lips on their lips, yes. But he wasn't _into _it.

And to me, that was what made the difference between a kiss and just planting your lips on someone else's mouth. And Nate hadn't kissed any girls yet… in front of me anyway. He certainly didn't kiss Bianca.

So that meant that I was angry. And the only person that I should be angry with, was myself. I wasn't pretty enough. Smart enough, talented enough to be with Nate. I knew it the whole time. And couldn't I see? All the times that Nate and I had gotten remotely close to getting together, or just getting closer… something had happened.

I was fighting something that I couldn't fight.

I could feel tears dampen the corners of my eyes. I looked out the window in an attempt to hide my tears from Tami. When she finally pulled into the driveway of Domifreak's house, I jumped out and ran around the front of her car, towards the house.

"See you tomorrow Tami. Thanks for the ride," I called back to her. I didn't turn around. My tears were already flowing freely down my face.

I ran as fast as I could with my injured ankle. The driveway was empty; Domifreak was still at Nate's house. I limped through the garden, whipped my bedroom door open and slammed it behind me. I stood at the doorframe for a moment, breathing heavily, sniffling and crying.

"I'm not good enough for him, am I?" I asked the air in front of me, rubbing away at my tears furiously.

The silence that engulfed me was almost like a deafening confirmation to my question.

I launched myself on my bed and cried.

-

Tami's POV

"Mitchie I need some place to go." I screamed into the phone just as I pulled away from the driveway. I shot one final glance at Mary as she hobbled as fast as she could to her bed. She didn't even turn to face me to wish me a good night. That's what we always did. What was bugging her?

"I'm kind of busy now, Tami." Mitchie said again. I could hear the loud voices of Bianca and Breah chattering in the back ground. "What are you so busy with that could be more important than this?" I asked angrily.

"It's kind of complicated—shove off!" The noises on the other end were slightly muffled and I held the phone an arm's length away from me. "Tami? Sorry that was the twins—they can't leave me alone."

"He kissed me, he kissed me," I could hear someone singing horribly off tune in the background. Who kissed who? I turned my attention to the road and realized I was driving in circles.

"Mitchie, I'm driving pass the same place over and over again. I need somewhere to stay tonight. I'll sneak back to my house early in the morning to get… no actually I should get my stuff now…"

I sighed as I drove out of the neighborhood, heading towards the direction of home. "Is my dad still there?"

"Ugh yes. I wish I had left with you and Mary. I'm stuck here watching Shane converse with the twins. If I thought life was ugly…" I could imagine her shuddering with disgust. "Just talking to them is enough to kill… poor Shane."

I rolled my eyes and turned into my own neighborhood. I drove down the road and rattled up to my driveway, quickly hopping out and rushing to the door.

"Shane's famous, he deals with all kinds of people. He'll be fine. I'm not so sure about myself. Mitchie, I still need a place to stay." I fumbled with the keys and finally managed to stumble into the house, shutting it behind me and turning on the lights.

My mom was overseas in China doing business. Since my dad and I didn't spend too much time in the house, and my younger brother was at camp, the air inside was stuffy and congested. I shook my head and walked over to the window and opened it, sighing as a cold breeze brushed my face.

"Fine, stay with me, my mom won't mind. She's cool that way." Mitchie said into the phone. I laughed. "Yeah, sure. Call her in advance, I'll head over there after I'm done packing. Your room? Or guest?"

"Mine. Wait—I'll call my mom."

There was a beeping on the line as Mitchie put me hold. I put her on speaker, then slipped the phone into my pocket.

Quickly, I hurried into my own bedroom. I had a luggage bag underneath my bed and I pulled it out, setting it on my bed and throwing a few sets of clothes in. I knew I would only stay out one night, or maybe two.

This was like having my final stand. I knew my dad. And I wanted to show him I was serious about Jason. And I knew that no matter how much I tried to convince him, my dad still wouldn't understand. I had just met Jason today! This was nothing but infatuation, that's exactly what he would say. But it wasn't. I could feel it. Irrational logic, but it was so true.

"Tami?" Mitchie's muffled voice came from my pocket and I brought it up to my ear. "Tell me she said yes," I asked hopefully, stopping my frenzy of packing to cross my fingers. "Yeah she did," Mitchie laughed. "You are so awesome, I owe you," I said into the phone before returning to my packing. There was a silence on the other line for some time. Then Mitchie talked.

"Don't you think this is pushing things a bit too far? Your dad wasn't that harsh at all when he saw you tonight. You're overeacting." Mitchie coaxed. I had my head cocked to one side to nestle my phone between my shoulder and cheek.

"That's because his client was there. If Domifreak hadn't been there, he would have screamed and shouted." I choked out the words as I threw in my makeup and hair accessories. I knew that amongst all three of us, my dad was the most uptight parent.

Mitchie's parents were cool and relaxed, they loved her so much, but they knew when to let go. Mary… well Mary didn't have any parents anymore, but when they were around, they were so… no word could describe them. They were just different, but in a good way. And for my parents? They loved me too, and they wanted me to chase my dream… and theirs. I couldn't do both, but they wouldn't listen, they insisted that I could chase both dreams. Maybe this was my chance to tell them to let me be. To let me grow up.

"I still think you're taking things a tad too far…" Mitchie said uncertainly into the phone. "And you're roping me in too."

I threw in the rest of my necessities and slammed the trunk shut. "Look, friends help one another. And you know I've been looking for a chance to… I don't know. Make a stand? Make a statement? I just want to tell them that I know what I'm doing. Besides, it's only for a night or two. He knows I won't stay away for long. He knows me."

I could hear Mitchie sigh into the phone. She was trying to act exasperated, but I could tell she was grinning. After all, she had been the one who had always pestered me to do something about my situation. And now I was.

I dragged my trunk off the bed, grabbed my school supplies that were in my bag, and hurried to the front door, pulling it open and shutting it behind me. I fumbled with the keys for a while before running to my car. "Thanks a lot Mitch. Oh wait—" I turned back to the door, grabbed some spare paper—I always leave some in my pocket—and a pen—also in my pocket—and scribbled down a note to my dad.

Much as he annoyed me, I still loved him.

_Dad. I'm sorry I did what I did. I'm not coming home tonight, (I'll be at Mitchie's--- you probably know that, I've staked out so many times there). I just want you to know that your trust means the world to me. And I want you to trust me, and trust what I have with Jason. He's a sweet guy, and he's special. Give him a chance. I'll be back soon, when you've learnt to give me my freedom. _

_Sorry, Tami. _

I stuffed it into the corner of the door. "Wait—you told him where you were staking out at? Oh priceless Tami, priceless. You're not supposed to tell him where you're going! You're supposed to make him wait, anxious and shaking in his socks!" Mitchie cried into the phone.

I laughed and climbed into the car after I had swung my luggage next to me. "Look, I'm trying to make a _point. _It's not like I'm running away."

"You might as well tell him your coming to my house for a sleepover." Mitchie mumbled into the phone. I laughed as I drove away. "That's practically what I did. Anyway, are those twins shutting up soon?"

The whole time that we had talked, I had heard their annoying voices shrieking on the other line. One particularly annoying voice kept on singing 'he kissed me'. It sounded like Bianca.

"Tell Bianca to keep quiet. She's making me go deaf." I complained. I was reaching Mitchie's house soon. The good thing was all three of us lived in neighborhoods that were on the same road, practically opposite each other. Our neighborhoods, if you joined lines between them on a map, formed a kind of triangle. It was pretty cool.

"I'm too fuming mad to talk to her." Mitchie spat into the phone. "What? What happened? Why does she keep on singing 'he kissed me'?" I asked curiously. It amazed me that someone would even kiss her. It would take an idiot to want to kiss _her. _Actually, an idiot would be too smart to even want to.

"Who kissed her, Mitchie?" I asked again when Mitchie didn't reply. I was turning into her neighborhood now.

"Tami…" She started. I could hear her voice dripping with anger. "Yeah?"

"Tami, Nate kissed her."

**Was it short? I wrote more of the story after my a/n above, so it's longer now. I hope this lives up to expectations. Oh yes, and I really do appreciate all the feedback from the previous chapter. I know it wasn't my best (I got this horrible PM from someone saying that I couldn't write for nuts… it made me really sad D: ) but please continue to review! Your feedback makes me smile, and encourages me to write.**

**And once again, I am ultra sorry for the delays in updating. I'll try—try to update by quarter feb okay? I am so sorry! Please do not get tired of this story!**

**And review! It means the world to me! Thank you :D**

**Love  
CauseImFearless**


	18. Chapter 18

**NO! I feel so extremely guilty! Im so sorry I didn't have time for updates! AHH IM SORRY. Oh no I have to leave now. Okay uhm… im super sorry I don't have time for my usual shoutouts. But thank you so much to everyone who has stayed with this story! Im sorry its kind of rushed, im rushing too.**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE. Im so sorry I can't do any shoutouts! I LOVE YOU!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own another Cinderella story or Camp rock.**

Chapter 18:

-

Mitchie's POV

"Thank goodness they're gone," I sighed as I leaned against the front door. I could see the faint outlines of Dominique through the window as she clacked to her limo. Shane, Jason and Nate were sitting on the couch, staring at the headlights of the car through the thin curtain, looks of exasperation on their faces.

I walked over to Shane, sitting down next to him and putting Tami on speakerphone, gently laying my phone on the coffee table in front of me. "How long were they here for?" Shane asked me. I glanced at the clock. It was 9.36. "For a while." I replied, before sitting up straight and turning to face Nate.

"And as for _you _Nate." I started, but paused when my phone buzzed suddenly and Tami's voice, loud and crackly shrieked from the speaker. All of us winced.

"I can't even begin to start, I mean Nate, you _kissed _Bianca. And for the record, _kissing _random girls isn't exactly what any Tom, Dick or Harry does on a daily basis." Tami shouted, not caring that it was in front of all of us, or that she didn't even say hi. She could have dialed the wrong number and be yelling at some random guy from Mexico and have no idea.

"I mean, common sense! You have home school, you should know!" She barreled ahead. Nate frowned at us, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Guys, this isn't what it seems like."

"Oh don't start with me, Brown. That's the oldest trick in the book." Tami said, her voice exaggerated and dripping with sarcasm. I scoffed and stood up, nodding ferociously. "Don't use that line on us. You've kissed two girls today. I find it a bit hard to believe that 'it isn't what it seems like'." I argued, putting quotation marks at the end of the sentence.

He groaned and stood up as well, just as Jason and Shane shot up next to me. All four of us in the room were on our feet, three of us turned against one. "Would you just listen to me?" Nate asked, his arms raised in frustration.

"If you could only listen to my explanation you would know you've got it all wrong!" I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, biting my lip and shaking my head. "I just… Tami and I, we're really close to Mary, _closer than sisters._ Do you seriously think we're going to just let you get away with all of this? All of this—" I waved my hands in the air, "this stupid things you're doing?"

"Yes!" Tami shouted from the phone, agreeing fervently with me. "If you could only see her on the way home today. I've seen her when her heart was broken Nate. But I've never seen her so… I can't even describe it! I don't know whether she was sad, angry or mad or— I just know you did that to her!"

Nate fell back into his seat, his face suddenly worn and tired. It looked like he had just aged two years in five minutes. But he deserved it, didn't he? He had hurt Mary so many times, how long more was he going to say 'just listen to me'? I didn't know whether the pop star rulebook said this, but I assumed it was common sense that a guy didn't just go around _kissing _randomgirls.

"Look, do you think I _wanted _to kiss Bianca?" He asked incredulously, his eyes downcast and unreadable. Shane began to slowly sit back down, his arms gently bringing me with him.

"How the heck would I know?" Tami asked.

"Tami…" I warned. As much as I agreed with her, I didn't want to be too rough on Nate. I didn't know what happened, but suddenly he seemed too sad and aggravated. And if he had been pretending, he wouldn't have been emitting this kind of atmosphere. No, what I was feeling from him wasn't fake. Something was real. And something was going on.

"Mitch, don't 'Tami' me! You know as well as I do what he did!" Tami argued.

"Let's just hear him out okay?" I asked gently, turning my body to the side to face Nate. He sighed and sat up in his chair. "So you'll listen now?" "Yes," Both Shane and Jason said. I just sighed and leaned into Shane, letting him pick up my hand and play with my fingers.

The room was silent for a heartbeat, until Tami groaned, exasperated and complained into the phone. "I'm waiting!"

"Tami!" I said, louder this time. I could imagine her sulking. "Fine," she finally gave up and the phone was quiet, except for the slight muffled sounds I could hear, which I knew were probably Tami mumbling irritably in the background.

"Look, we were just trying to find a way to get Mary out of there. And the only way was through the patio in my bedroom, and letting her climb down from the big tree. And that's what we did. And she finally got on the branch."

"Wait, but Mary—" Tami interrupted.

"Tami…" Jason said. She was silent again and Nate continued.

"And then the door to my room opened. And Bianca was there. So I did what I did. I kissed her so she wouldn't see Mary."

Tami scoffed loudly. "You kissed her? You couldn't have just like, given her a big bear hug? Or thrown a pillow at her?"

"Look, I panic under stress! The first thing that came to mind was to kiss her!" Nate shouted at the phone. I bet if I was a bystander, it would have looked pretty funny. But I knew what was going on. And it was nowhere near comedic.

"Your first instinct was to kiss Bianca? Hah! Typical. And besides, everyone was outside chasing me, she couldn't have been—"

"You're making no sense!" Nate rebutted back, waving his hands in the air.

"Oh and what, you do?" Tami retorted.

"At least I—"

"Guys!" Jason shouted amidst the chaos. The room was suddenly silent, and I fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere. Shane gave my hand a light squeeze. "Nate isn't lying!" Jason said, particularly loud. He was staring at the phone, as if staring at its' tiny screen would send some telepathic message to Tami.

"When we were running out, I noticed that Bianca was following us. She could have gone up to Nate's room." He reasoned. So Bianca _hadn't _actually left the house with us. That explained a lot.

"See?" Nate asked.

"You're not off the hook Nate! Your first instinct was to _kiss? _ C'mon man. I expected better of you." Jason said back, shaking his head disappointedly. "Okay it's getting late. Just, everyone get a good night's rest." He finished.

"I… I'm sorry I blew up Nate." Tami whispered over the phone, still apparently shocked at the sudden 'outburst'—though it really wasn't—that Jason had just had.

"Uh… it's… it's okay." Nate coughed and then stood up to head back to his room. The living room was silent again, and it felt as if the silence was echoing through the room. "Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." Tami said awkwardly before hanging up.

The dull monotonous click came from the phone and I left it there for a little while, before finally standing up and turning my phone off. "Night Shane." I smiled at him and walked out of the house, wondering if the plan Tami and I had come up with really was that great of a plan after all.

Maybe not.

--

Mary's POV

The clock said it was 7.00 AM. I found that hard to believe. I lifted my right hand in front of my face and squinted in the darkness, counting off the number of times I had woken up in the middle night with my fingers. I wiped sleep from my eyes and tried to sit up.

Ugh. My whole body was aching. I felt like I was buzzing, but it was so painful and uncomfortable. And I could feel as if I had torn muscles in every part of my body. I groaned and attempted to stand up, but collapsed back on the bed when a sharp pain jolted up from my ankle all the way up my leg. It sent shivers up my spine.

I shouted loudly in aggravation. This is what would happen when I climb a tree at night and fall of the branch. Brilliant Mary. See the light when you don't need it anymore. I fell back on the bed and buried my head in my pillow, trying to hide away the first few rays of a new day.

"Mary! Get in here!" Domifreak's voice echoed through the speaker and ricocheted off the walls of my room. I dragged myself up, and shuffled on my knees over the bed and to the intercom. "Yes, Ma'm." I answered as politely as I could. If only Domifreak knew what I always thought whenever I talked to her.

I pulled myself over the edge of the bed and hobbled to the closet, pulling out my clothes for the day and my maid outfit to wear over. Each step was like I was stepping on a sharp rock. Wasn't life fantastic.

…

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come so late," I quickly apologized, throwing my skateboard into the back of the great pumpkin and hobbling over to the door to sit next to Mitchie. "It's okay, Mary. We know Domifreak. She obviously gave you more chores today cause she found out she had a pimple or something." Tami reassured me as she pulled away.

Mitchie laughed as she threw a wrapped taco from Taco bell into my lap. "Taco Tuesday, Mary." I nodded my thanks and unwrapped it, eating the slightly soggy taco slowly. "So…" Mitchie started as Tami turned out of the neighborhood. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the dashboard.

"So…?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. The car was quiet for a while. Mitchie was biting her lip and Tami was focusing so hard on the road ahead she looked like she was in a lot of pain. "Guys," I finally groaned, exasperated. I set my half-eaten taco on my lap and crossed my arms over my chest.

"If you want to ask me something, you could just ask." Mitchie bit her lip harder. "And stop that Mitch, or your lip is going to make you bleed to death." I warned. She sighed and turned to Tami. "I told you! She's perfectly fine!"

"Well how was I supposed to—"

"Your too paranoid, I—"

"Guys?" I asked.

"Oh well, excuse me for being worried—"

"Not my fault you—"

"Guys?"

"I know we're worried but—"

"Guys!" I shouted. "Hello? Still here? What's going on?" I asked.

Tami and Mitchie sighed. Mitchie turned to me and her face looked almost… apologetic. Great, were they turning me into their own charity case now? "Mary, we… know about last night." Mitchie whispered to me, frowning sadly at me.

I uncrossed my arms and laid them on my lap, my fingers playing with the taco, tracing the edges of it's wrapper. "Oh… that." I coughed. "That was nothing." Tami gripped her wheel and turned into school. That was fast, I didn't realize West Waters was so close.

Tami pulled into an empty lot, but didn't budge. "It isn't just nothing Mary. Look, we just want you to know we're here for you. Now and tomorrow and everything ahead. So just answer me—us—truthfully. Are you okay?"

Tears were prickling my eyes. I didn't know whether it was because we were talking about what Nate did, or whether it was because I was touched by Tami and Mitchie. I knew they were my best friends. They were like my sisters. and even though it was like a code that came with our friendship, none of us had actually said it out loud about how we would stick with each other through thick and thin. Tami was the first to give a pep talk about it.

"I'm fine. Nate didn't really mean it. I'm fine." I replied slowly, articulating every word. Mitchie shot me a skeptical look. "I don't know…"

I groaned loudly. Some students walking by stopped to stare at me. I looked around and lowered my voice.

"If you keep on harping on it, I'm not going to be fine." I said. "Look, can we just go now?" I leaned around Tami and Mitchie and glanced at the front doors of West Waters. There were more paparazzi today than there were yesterday. I shook my head sadly. It seemed like I wouldn't get a chance to talk to Nate today.

"Fine." Mitchie sighed, then hopped out of the car. "See you Tami," I called back cheerfully and headed towards the front doors. "Does it seem like there are more cameras here today than there were yesterday?" Mitchie asked me as soon as we were within arm's reach of the crowd.

I nodded. It _was _strange. "Yeah… it seems like it." I replied. "I wonder why." Mitchie shrugged. "Hey, it's Connect Three, there's always going to be paparazzi." I laughed. "True."

"Or maybe their waiting for us…" Mitchie whispered. "What?" I asked confused. I turned to look in front of me, and realized that the paparazzi were staring at me. At _us. _And suddenly their cameras were flashing everywhere.

"Mitchie!"

"Mary! Babe, over here!"

Mitchie and I stopped moving, frozen to the floor. We were suddenly crowded around by flocks of paparazzi, their cameras flashing in our faces, blinding our eyes and catching every angle of us. I grabbed Mitchie's hand nervously.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice rising slightly from hysteria. Mitchie couldn't even reply me. Her lips were moving silently, twitching a bit to form her reply. The cameras were closing in on us, and the air was suddenly stuffy.

"What's your relationship with Connect Three?"

"Are you stalking them?"

I wanted to scream at them to leave us alone. I would have, if the crowd hadn't parted in front of us and I saw the most comforting thing I would ever see. Nate and Shane emerged from the crowd. Almost immediately, they were enveloped in the crowd with us.

"Mary! Are you okay? Oh god, how did you get caught in this?" Nate said to me as soon as he reached me. Shane grabbed Mitchie's hand and I felt Nate's warm ones envelop mine. Soon, he was dragging me through the crowd. Every so often, he would turn around and smile reassuringly at me, until we reached the edge and stumbled through the doors.

They shut behind us with a defeaning clang.

"Shane!" Mitchie cried and fell into his arms. I turned around and glanced nervously at the clear doors, where there were paparazzi pressing themselves to the doors. "We better get out of the corridor first…" I said, tugging slightly on Nate's arms. We both looked down the corridor, which was extremely long and straight.

Shane turned to us, still holding Mitchie in his arms. "I'll find someone to get them away. Nate, you and Mary find somewhere else to go." Nate nodded and his hand found mine, giving it a light squeeze. "C'mon Mary." I nodded numbly and turned on my heel to follow him, Shane and Mitchie heading in the other direction.

We had barely walked passed a few doors when I heard the front doors open slightly, and soft footsteps following us down the corridor. I turned and saw a student, a huge camera hanging from his neck. He made eye contact with me then looked away. I sighed with relief.

"Wait, hey!" I turned around again. This time he was jumping up and down, staring and me and Nate. And then he was running. "No! Nate!" I shouted to get his attention. Nate looked down at me and then behind him. "Ugh!"

He pulled me down the corridor and we were running. Well, he was. I was dragging my foot behind me. Finally, we turned into a door that was unlocked. Nate rushed in and shut the door shut behind us, locking it and smiling crazily at me. That crooked lopsided smile of his that I loved so much.

The room was silent for a while as we caught our breath. By then I had moved to stand next to him, the both of us leaning our backs to the door, smiling giddily for some strange reason.

"Mary…" Nate whispered to me after a while. His hand was brushing mine slightly, and it sent shivers up my spine. "Yes?" I asked breathlessly. He turned his head to me, his brown orbs searching mine. "Mary, I'm sorry." He apologized, his hand reaching over to clasp my hand in his.

"I can't believe I did what I did last night. I'm sorry." I nodded at him, the edges of my mouth pulling up into a smile. "I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you." He smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. I bit my lip nervously.

"Your foot…" he said again, staring at my right foot. A look of realization crossed his face and he groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "Was it because you fell off the tree?"

I shook my head slightly and touched his chin, lifting his head up to my eyes. "It's not your fault."

"Mary, I want to make it up to you." Nate whispered again. I shook my head. "Nate, I'm fine."

"No. You're not. Look, there's this beach. We're going this weekend." He paused and assessed my reaction. I shook my head slightly. Dominique would never allow me.

"Come with me."

I smiled apologetically at him. "I don't think so Nate. Dominique…" I left the sentence hanging. Just saying her name implied all. Nate chuckled. "I've got that covered." I raised my eyebrows. He knew a way to convince Dominique? No one could change Dominique's mind. No one.

"I don't think you do. You don't know her." I said skeptically, shaking my head teasingly.

Nate leaned over and very gently kissed my cheek. "I've got it covered." His breath on my ear sent shivers up my spine. I closed my eyes. "No you don't" I argued stubbornly.

"Come with me." Nate repeated again. His lips were still pressed gently to my cheek. It was soft and it felt like they were just brushing the surface. I cracked. Who wouldn't?

"Alright."

**Hope you liked it! Im so sorry again for not doing shoutouts! Thank you to all my readers! You make my days!**

**Please review and all that jazz! **

**I'll try to update as soon as possible. Things have been insane.**

**Love  
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	19. Chapter 19

**YAY! Another chapter! Sadly though, ive seem to lost some of my readers that have stuck with me through the story ): But nevermind! I hope more people will read this story, and please, please review! (: Thanks to those that keep me going: A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy for reviewing (haha thank you) xXthatswhatyougetXx for reviewing (im glad you liked it (: ) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thank you for constantly reviewing, and im glad you've liked it all the way!) live-in-dreamland1 (thanks for your always awesome reviews (: ) James n Lily R in LOVE for reviewing (glad you liked it!) utmy123 for reviewing (yay I wanted the paparazzi thing to be unexpected :D ) vanessadsx for reviewing (woo! Haha hopefully this chapt is good too (: ) mickeyhagg for reviewing (sorry I didn't update as fast ): ) zash236 for adding it to alert and reviewing (ohmygosh, awesome review (: thank you so much you made my day!) **

**Well that's it. Hopefully this chapter is okay. Ive been… out of sorts lately. Also, please check out my other one-shot I just wanted Ice Cream. A lot of people have been faving and alerting it, but I barely have reviews, and I want to know if I should continue it! Thanks, well on to the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock.**

Chapter 19: Probabilities

--

Mary's POV

"I can't believe this!" Mitchie said angrily as she slammed a magazine on the bed. I raised my eyebrow and put my homework down next to me, before leaning forward and picking up the paper. "I don't get what you're on about—oh." I paused halfway through my sentence, my lips forming the words as I read the cover page of the newspaper silently. The headlines were there, huge and bold. Just like I had predicted yesterday, but with all the drama that had been going on, I had totally forgotten about it. I should have seen this coming. I shook my head sadly.

"Fans More Dangerous by the Minute," I read aloud, as if to confirm that it was real, this article was _there_. Below it was a picture of me holding back Mitchie as she attempted to attack Tess outside the school. Shane was in the background and he looked shocked. But I knew he was shocked only because he had seen Mitchie. But the press didn't know that. They would read his expression a completely different way. I groaned. "Oh no."

Mitchie sniffled, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Oh yeah." I shot her an apologetic look. "Tami take a look at this," I said, clearing my throat. Tami had been sitting next to me the whole time and she leaned over, glancing at the magazine before letting out a low whistle. "You've_ really _done it this time Sherlock." She shook her head.

Mitchie groaned and grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it. "I didn't actually attack her! The paparazzi—ugh! What will they do to get a good story? Tess was the one that attacked me first, why I ought to—"

"Mitchie…" I shook my head. "This isn't worth it. Just ask Shane to hold a conference or something. Problem solved. No need to curse," I pointedly stared at her. She mumbled something incoherent into the pillow and sat up. "It's not that easy Mary." I shot her a disbelieving look. "With you it never is."

Mitchie bit her lip nervously. "It really isn't. Didn't it occur to you that Shane and I haven't gone public yet? There's a reason for it. Shane can't just come out of the blue with a press conference for me. Rumors are going to spread."

I shot her a sympathetic look for the second time in less than five minutes. "Makes sense." Tami looked up from the sketches she was doing and gave us a 'duh' face. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Tami oh wise one?" She laughed and turned so her back was lying on the bed and she was staring at the ceiling. "Why don't you just…hmm I don't know? Go public?"

I dropped my head in my hands with an aggravated groan. "You weren't listening much, were you?" Tami giggled. "Sorry, I was busy—oh my gosh! Mary!" I rolled my eyes before turning my attention to Tami. "Yes?" She bolted upright quickly and opened the newspaper.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me…" I looked down at the paper to see a _huge _picture of Nate's face right in front of mine. 'Love For Teenage Heartthrob?' I read the words almost disbelievingly, shaking my head.

"This can't be happening." The whole page was filled with pictures of me and Nate. The time when he had confronted me early yesterday morning during school. And there were pictures of me crying too, and pictures of Nate kissing _her. _Tess. The whole page was a guess at his relationship with Tess and me.

Mitchie leaned over me to look at the pictures. She sniffled before smiling at me. "Hey at least you look pretty darn gorgeous in those pictures Mary." Her smile faltered when she saw me frowning.

"I can't believe this… Dominique will kill me." I whispered, tears pooling in my eyes and blurring my vision. "I can't… I can't…" I shook my head. "She's really going to kill me," I croaked out before bursting into tears.

"Oh no, come here, Mary," Tami leaned over and engulfed me in a huge hug. I sobbed into her shirt. This was one of the reasons I loved Tami so much. She was the first on that supported me and comforted me with everything. "It's going to be okay." She cooed.

I felt another pair of arms wrap around me and smelt Mitchie's cinnamon scent. "It's going to be fine." I shook my head violently. "Just _think _of what she'll do to me!" Mitchie's grasp on me tightened. "Oh please, she can't do anything to you! You know that Tami and I would kick her butt before she could even try to kick yours."

I laughed slightly. "I just… I don't know." Tami patted me on the back. "Mitchie'll call Nate or Shane later. They'll get something settled out."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks, guys."

Tami and Mitchie pulled back from the hug and smiled encouragingly at me. "Hey, what are friends for?"

--

Nate's POV

"Loosen up, man," Shane said and slapped me on the back. I jumped and rubbed the place where he had hit. "Watch it, Shane!" He raised his hands defensively and stepped back from me a bit. "Look, you said you had it under control. You have to act like it is before you do anything." Shane shrugged. "Like the way I'm acting now."

I scowled at him and turned around, walking down the steps and pacing back and forth in front of the house. "I know, but I…" I paused for a moment and glanced at Mary's room across the lawn. I cocked my head in the direction of Shane and narrowed my eyes.

"Just be confident?" I asked skeptically. Shane grinned and opened his arms wide, towards the large house. "That's all there is to it."

--

Wow. The room was pink. As in shell-shock pink. As in Barbie pink. I wondered who could stand living in this kind of room. I looked across from me at the wrinkled face of Dominique and her dress of the day: a large, strictly all ruffles, purple sequined studded dress. Of course Dominique would live in this kind of room. What was I thinking?

She cleared her throat for a long time and scanned the both of us. Her two daughters, Breah and Bianca, were standing at the doorway, shoving each other to try and find space to lean on the doorframe, trying to act well, seductive? I was staring at them for a while. There was something about the way that they fought that I found highly amusing.

Bianca caught me staring and she winked before flashing her teeth at me in a big grin. I shivered and turned away, shaking my head as I studied the carpet. Hm. A purple carpet in a hot pink room. That was… totally expected actually.

"So what do you say?" Shane asked while I studied the floor and pretended to be fascinated with the colour coordination of the room. I know I had told Shane I would handle this, but now that I was actually sitting in the room across Dominique, the essence of Mary's suffering, I really couldn't stop myself from jumping up and squeezing her until all the sequins in her dress popped out.

But I was here to make a deal and to try and give Mary an opportunity to hang out with the gang for a weekend. No way was I putting that plan in jeopardy just to squeeze Dominique's lights out. Shane nudged me subtly in the ribs and I sat up immediately, suppressing my groan with a cough.

"Smile," Shane urged through gritted teeth as he shot his, well what he liked to call anyway, 100-watt smile. I faked a smile as well as I could at Dominique. "Yes, what do you say?" She pursed her pink, _yes _pink, lips at us before answering.

"I don't know boys." Shane and I exchanged glances before looking back her. "Mary out for one _whole_ weekend? Who's supposed to make my bed or get me my slippers?" Shane rolled his eyes and I sighed softly. '_Try getting them yourself'_ I thought with a scowl before quickly smiling again.

"Mary's our friend and she helped us a lot with uh… well basically Mitchie helped Shane a lot and we wanted to treat her. But she said she refused to come, only if Mary came. Shane really wants this." I quickly said, shooting an apologetic look at Dominique, acting as if I didn't want this.

Shane looked at me with confusion. "I do?" I turned to him and made a slight jerk of my head. I raised my eyebrows at him and through gritted teeth muttered, "Yes you do." Shane slowly nodded his head, winking at me before turning to Dominique. "Yes I do."

Then, with a sneaky grin in my direction, he leaned back in the couch and spread his arms out wide against the edge, acting comfortable. He lifted his hand to his face and pretended to act interested in his fingernails, before turning to Dominique with a disinterested look in his eyes.

"I mean… we haven't really discussed the duet yet have we. And I don't know… Connect Three likes working with people that have a good heart, you know? That helps, and wouldn't mind… doing some stuff themselves so other people can have a break." He pursed his lips back at Dominique and it took all I had to not laugh.

"I mean… just saying you know." He raised an eyebrow at Dominique before proceeding to observe the fingernails on his other hand. I tried to mimic his attitude and I leaned back, yawning slightly and acting interested in the large tree outside the humongous glass window next to me.

Dominique narrowed her eyes at us briefly, the corners crinkling into wrinkles. She seemed to be debating whether this was a good chance to give up or not. Finally, she smoothed out her ruffles on her dress, picking at a few sequins before finally looking up at us.

"Fine… I'll take you up on the offer." Shane grinned at me. I could almost see him bragging to me after we leave the house. I sat up slowly, nodding my head approvingly. "Good, we'll get our agent to contact your agent."

Shane sat up slowly too, still keeping his uninterested act going on. He strode over to the door and winked at Bianca and Breah who were still struggling to pose at the doorframe. "No need to see us out ladies." He said before bounding out the steps.

It took all I could not to roll my eyes. I settled with a simple nod in their direction, before following Shane and shutting the door behind me.

I was glad that was over.

--

Marys POV

"Sorry," I muttered, pulling away from the warm embrace of the world's best friends anyone could ask for. I sniffed and rubbed my eyes. "I should really stop breaking down like that," I apologized. Tami laughed. "It's okay to show some weakness sometimes Mary. It's what keeps you human." Mitchie nodded. "And what keeps you _sane." _

I giggled. "When did we become the trio of psychologists?" I asked. Mitchie shrugged. "We're just deep that's all." I rolled my eyes. "Egotistical much?" I asked before reaching for my pillow and whacking her over the head with it.

"Hey!" She shrieked. She grabbed the pillow and readied to lift it over my head when the door burst open. "Mary!" Nate shouted, then stopped short as he saw Mitchie, poised with my pillow raised over my head.

"Am I…" he stole a glance at me. "Interrupting something?" I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from laughing and gently reaching over to push the pillow down from Mitchie's hands. I turned to Nate and smiled. "No you're not."

Nate nodded his head, before suddenly pausing and leaning forward, his eyes searching mine. "Mary?" I raised my eyebrow. "Yeah?" in a flash he was across the room and seated across from me. Tami and Mitchie cleared their throats and hurried out of the room. "We'll be… away." Mitchie said, before pushing Shane, who was leaning on the doorframe, out, Tami stumbling after. The door slammed with a loud 'Ow what'd you push me for?'.

Nate lifted his hand and pressed it to my cheek. I closed my eyes and let the warmth from his hand soothe me. "Mary, are you okay?" I pressed my hand to his. "I think so." His mouth formed a slight smile, before he moved to brush his fingertips against the corners of my eyes, rubbing away some of my tears.

His fingers were so soft. I had expected them to be rough from all that guitar playing. I smiled a bit, feeling his fingers gently caress against my skin. "You've been crying." He whispered to me, before pulling me into a hug. I felt his strong, secure arms wrap around me, and almost instantly fresh tears sprang to my eyes.

"Why were you crying?" He whispered into my hair. I buried my face in his chest, blinking back my tears. "Have you seen it?" My voice was muffled by his shirt. Gently, he pulled away from me, his arms still wrapped around my back. His brown eyes searched mine questioningly. "Seen?" I nodded my head.

"It was in… they published an article Nate. They know about you and me." I licked my dry lips. "I know that it's a good thing that we're together, but I'm just worried—"

"About Dominique." Nate finished my sentence. I nodded my head, my vision suddenly blurring at the mention of her name. I shouldn't be scared of her. I knew that. Then why was I so absolutely freaked by her now?

"Mary," Nate gritted his teeth together. "She wouldn't _dare _hurt you in any way." I blinked back tears. "Nothing's stopped her from doing that before." Nate chuckled slightly. "That was only because I wasn't in the picture. Now I am. I would _never _let _anyone _hurt you."

A tear rolled down my cheek and Nate reached up, gently wiping it away. "I don't deserve you," I choked out. "I don't deserve what you're doing for me." Nate frowned and cupped my face in his hands. His mere touch sent electrifying jolts through my whole body.

"You're worth it. Dominique makes you feel like you aren't." He shook his head sadly. "But you are." I smiled. "Thank you, Nate." Slowly, I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. I could feel myself blush, and I quickly looked away.

"So… you can go this weekend." Nate quickly said, sneaking in a teasing glance in my direction. My jaw might as well have dropped. "No kidding?" he shook his head, grinning the whole time. I squealed and jumped up, leaning forward and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you so much!"

I pulled back and before I knew it, Nate had captured my chin between his thumb and forefinger. I froze suddenly, staring intently at him. What was he doing? Was he about to kiss me? I felt shivers of anticipation run up and down my spine.

This was it. Our first kiss. _My_ first kiss. I was hoping for something more fairytale like… but if it was with Nate, it would be fairytale enough for me. Slowly I leaned forward, pausing for a moment and using my eyes to communicate with Nate. _It's fine. _I told him, before continuing to lean in.

Just as our lips brushed slightly, just when I could feel the skin of his lips within reach of mine, the buzzer rang. I groaned and quickly shot back away from him.

_Mary? The toilet calls. _Dominique's voice filled my room, and ended off with her dry, sarcastic cackle. I made a face. "Sorry Nate." He shook his head. "I can't believe she treats you like this." I tried to shrug as nonchalantly as I could before slowly sliding off the bed.

"I'm sorry. So… this Friday?" He nodded before leaning over and quickly planting a kiss on my cheek, just mere centimeters from my lips. "I can't wait." I grinned sheepishly at him before turning around and grabbing my 'maid outfit.'

I slipped into it as fast as I could and buttoned it up as I made my way to the door. "Thanks," I said one more time when I paused at the doorframe. He smiled at me—his crooked smile of his that I loved so much—and with one final look at his direction, I hobbled across the lawn to the house.

**That's it! Hopefully you liked it (crosses fingers). Anyway, I was planning for it to be much longer, but I really am rushed for time, and sorry for any mistakes. I didn't have much time to edit.**

**So, please, please, review! It's one of the only things that keep me going now (:**

**Love  
CauseImFearless**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey! Immmmmm back! Sorry for not updating regularly. Schools been hectic and ive been surviving on 4 hours of sleep a night D: im typing in the dark as we speak (my parents would kill me if they found out I was still awake) anyway, thanks for all the reviews guys (: truly, I wouldn't have gotten this far without every one of you :D thanks to : live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (you really know what to say to make me smile, thanks :D) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thanks (: thanks for constantly reviewing :D) zash236 for reviewing and alerting (thanks for your review :D I was so touched) James n Lily R in LOVE for reviewing (sorry im not updating as often ) evershort for reviewing (haha thanks!) mickeyhagg for reviewing (I promise ill try to update as often!) utmy 123 for reviewing (mitchie was attacking tess for dousing maryy :D) a forgotten fairy. . AKA—fairy for reviewing (hope you like this chapter! Weekend timeee) ihotie for faving me and the story and for reviewing 17 times (wow. Thank you. I was so shocked (: ) karlaispaja for alerting & reviewing (haha thanks a lot) romanceismyguiltypleasure for alerting and reviewing (hahah thank you so much :D) XxEvilPandaxX for alerting, vanessadsx for reviewing (thanks for being a constant reviewer too (: ) jenknee for alerting, WhatRulookinat for reviewing (thanks, and also for always being a constant reviewer and reviewing twice(: )Cassiecaseyox for reviewing (ahhaha okay ill try to write as fast as possible!) stupidchild.x3. for alerting **

**So my exams are starting (NOOO) but I will update as soon as possible! Well I think this is the longest chapt yet. Hopefully its enough fluff (this is my first story writingfluff)**

**Oh yes. And now I am… officially FOURTEEN! YEAHHH BABAY! Haha okay pls enjoy (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Another Cinderella Story **

Chapter 20: Clear Blue Skies

Mary's POV

"Are you excited? I'm excited!" Mitchie squealed for the fifth time in that minute—in that _second. _Tami gritted her teeth. "I was until you went all hyper on me. Now be quiet or I'm going to drop you off here." Mitchie stopped bouncing and shot a death glare at Tami. "You're a party pooper, you know that." Tami shrugged. "We're on a mountain. You're bouncing so much you're going to bounce us all off." Mitchie frowned and sunk into her seat. "Party pooper." She muttered before turning to stare out the window.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I whispered. And it was true, I couldn't remember being someplace as beautiful as this. I had never been here before and even if I had had the chance, Dominique would have never allowed me this far from home. She likes to keep me in a cage. And the whole time I didn't know what I was missing. We were on a mountain. On a mountain! Well, a hill really. But it was still big. And we were driving down in winding circles and with each turn I'd see a new stretch of the beautiful beach and white sand. And clear blue waves that crashed against the rocks and crawled up to the shore.

This place was magical.

This would be the first time I that I would have ever been the farthest from Dominique. And here I was, with my two best friends and my boyfriend and his totally fantastic brothers. They were sitting in the limo in front of us. I had refused to ride in it because I'd feel so uncomfortable and really? I wasn't regretting the decision. The windows were too tinted to see _this. _And no way was I going to miss anymore of this scenery while I was here.

"This is too good to be true," I sighed. Mitchie nudged me. "The scenery or being alone with Nate _without _le Domifreak for a change?" I rolled my eyes and nudged her back. "Being here, and living a dream I've never thought I've get." Tami almost chocked on her spit.

"Going to the beach is your dream?" I shrugged nonchalantly. "You wouldn't believe it but I haven't been to the beach in ages. And this beach is _gorgeous._ This might as well be my dream."

Mitchie laughed. "Why don't you get a _good _dream? Like being a singer for one. Your good, Mary." I scoffed. "If I'm good then you must be incredible." Mitchie glanced at me teasingly. "Isn't that obvious?"

Tami laughed as I shoved Mitchie towards her. We were probably going to spend the rest of the ride giggling like a bunch of well—girls that had never been on a date before. Which was true in a sense, for me anyway.

I sat back and looked at my friends, smiling as Mitchie pulled Tami's hair while she drove. This would be the best weekend in ages.

--

"A beach house." I said incredulously, standing on the large driveway staring at the humongous house that loomed overhead. "We're staying in—" I pointed a finger at the house while shooting Mitchie a disbelieving look. "_This?" _Mitchie shook her head slightly. "Wow." She whispered.

Tami bounced up next to me and let out a low whistle. "Are we… are we at the right address?" She leaned back and scanned the row of houses on the street. There weren't that many because they were all far apart. For privacy I guess.

"Amazing." Tami said again. I nodded my head. The beach house was big. _Big. _It had nice creamy walls, with tall glass windows and white curtains that cascaded from the ceiling down. There were four patios that I could spot just around the corner. The whole house was engulfed in palm trees and flowers and I thought I even saw a wild rabbit hop out of sight.

Next to me I heard the guys whooping and jumping into the building. "Guys, can't live with them, can't live without them," I muttered, shaking my head in mock disappointment as I grinned at Tami and Mitchie. Mitchie laughed. "Can you believe those jerks are famous? Psht." Tami giggled and rubbed her hands together. "The house is the perk though. Oh gosh what are we standing outside for? We should check out the inside. I bet it's a jillion times better—"

She paused for a moment when Shane and Jason burst through the front door, Shane's hand holding on to a big metal bucket full of water. It overflowed and splashed on the driveway. "Shane?" I asked incredulously. "What are you—" He staggered forward, the water splattering on the hot cement and soaking the hem of his jeans.

Mitchie bumped him when he hobbled by and the water sprayed on his shirt. "You dork, what are you doing?" She asked him as she laughed. Jason came from behind and started jumping up and down. "Come on, Shane!" With a sudden burst of speed, Shane ran to the limo, which still had the passenger door open. He readied his arms to throw the water inside.

"Shane!" Mitchie shrieked. "What the heck are you doing? That's a limo!" Shane just laughed while Jason continued to jump. He turned to face me and winked. I raised an eyebrow. "Nate's a heavy sleeper," he said before flinging the water through the door.

My eyebrows scrunched together before I realized what he meant. And sure enough, I heard Nate's voice from inside the limo. "Ow you—" And then he jumped out, his red shirt soaking wet and sticking to his skin. "Shane, you're an idiot!" He ran after Shane, who had dropped his metal bucket that was now rolling onto the grass. Jason had already sped into the house, and soon, Nate and Shane disappeared.

All three of us girls started laughing. "They really are something." I choked out in between giggles. Tami clutched her side. "I know… knowing Jason he's probably going to hide in a cupboard to wait the whole day for Nate to come find him." She laughed a lot harder and paused suddenly, her eyes widening.

"Oh my Gosh! Jason!" She screamed and ran into the house. Mitchie shook her head. "Better go and stop Shane from burning the house down." She laughed one last time before bounding up the steps and disappearing through the door.

I laughed some more as I heard the sounds of Tami screaming Jason's name, the sounds of Nate screaming 'Bloody Murder, Shane!' and the sounds of Mitchie screaming 'Nate get off of Shane!'—coming from the house.

This weekend was going to be pretty interesting.

--

Tami's POV

"So this beach is just, private then?" I asked as I bent down to pick up another shell. It glittered in the Sun. Smiling, I dropped into the bucket I was holding and turned around to look at Jason. His bucket was already half full with shells.

"Yup. All ours… and the birdies of course!" Jason said, smiling happily at me. I grinned back. That was what I liked most about Jason. His happiness was infectious. It could warm the coldest of hearts.

Slowly, I placed my own bucket on the cool, wet sand and waded into the blue water. Another thing about this beach that was so fascinating was that it's water was pure, aqua blue. Jason had said something about all of the neighbors pulling money together to form a special line a few kilometers away that 'filtered' away all the pollution. I didn't quite get it, but it must be some amazing line to create seawater as clear as this.

I scrunched my toes up, feeling the warm sand curl under my feet and slowly drift off with the lazy waves. "I don't know how you found this place." I breathed. "It's amazing." I could hear Jason noisily place his bucket on the sand and wade in after me. "Isn't it?" He paused for a moment before quickly adding, "It's got amazing birds too." There he went again. With the birds. Not that I hated it and all, it just seemed that he tried too hard to _add _them into every sentence.

I turned to face him, my eyes squinting against the sun. "Why?" I asked. Jason shot me a confused look. I bent down and dipped my arms in the cool water. "Jason, I asked your brother something the other day." Slowly I sat down and let the water soak through my pants and swirl around my waist. I brought my knees to my chest.

"What'd you ask him? Which brother was it anyway, Nate or Shane?" Jason asked as he joined me, his face a mask of total confusion. I ignored his question and barreled ahead. "He said you topped your graduating class. Pretty fantastic for a guy who claims he can't recite the months in order." I smiled. "Jason I can read you like a seashell." He rose his eyebrows playfully. "A seashell?"

I nodded. "A seashell." I brought my hands back and leaned on them, stretching my legs out against the current. "And you, Mr. Seashell, aren't that hard to read. Just tell me, why pretend? You don't have to act… dense to be loved. Everyone loves you the way you are. _I _love you just the way you are." I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Did I just say that? Did I just say that stupid, overused, totally cliché—not to mention extremely gushy—line? I was losing my mind. Maybe I should just plunge my whole head in the water.

Jason surprised me. "So you could tell, huh? I should've guessed. I mean, your Tami after all." I turned to him and smiled slightly. Jason leaned back too and locked eye contact with me, his brown orbs burning into mine. "I guess I felt kind of lost. I mean, in Connect Three Shane's the one with the good looks and he's got ladies man written all over him. Nate's the sensitive guy, with good looks and musical talent. And I'm? I'm the guy in the back banging on his guitar."

His words sliced through me like a knife. So Jason had been hurting this whole time. How could I have not seen? Tami, you're an _idiot_. I hope you know that.

"So I guess I finally worked through different reputations until everyone liked 'Jason, the cute nonsensical one. And then I slipped into that character and it's… like an alter ego now." I shook my head sadly. So that was why. Jason. Jason, Jason, Jason. Couldn't that idiot have opened up to me sooner?

I sat up straight and turned to him, kneeling on my knees and slowly winding my arms around his head and hugging him lightly to me. "You could have told me." I scolded quietly. "You idiot, you could have said something."

Jason chuckled, his head nuzzling into the crook of my neck. "It wouldn't change things, would it?" I pulled away from him slightly, frowning. "They love you, Jase. They always will. I always will." Okay, I _had_ to stop these cheesy lines. Where were they coming from anyway? Tami, get a grip.

Jason smiled up at me, his toothy grin melting away all my regret of revealing a softer side of me. If it was for Jason, I wouldn't mind being a lovesick teenager. Well, in front of him anyway. In front of Mary, _especially _Mitchie, I couldn't act lovesick. This side of me was reserved for Jason and Jason alone.

He slowly wound his arms around my waist. Oh… crap. Was he leaning in? _Was he leaning in? _I had to remind myself to breathe. It was difficult though, with my stupid heart beating so hard against my ribcage I was sure a crab way beneath the sand could hear it.

And slowly, just like in the old fashioned white and black movies—or was it black and white movies, I couldn't think straight now—our lips touched briefly. I bit my lip to stop from grinning madly when we pulled away. And without a word, we both leaned in again.

Wow. So this was what it felt like to be kissed. Was it me or was I on fire? Not the raging kind that feels like its tearing at your skin. This fire was soft, if it made any sense. It was a weird tingling in my chest that was squeezing my heart, setting it tingling and a feeling like it would burst.

My first kiss. Yes, I, Tami, had not had my first kiss. And wow, was I glad I hadn't. I doubted my first kiss would have felt like this if it had not been with Jason. These sparks weren't normal.

But then again, was what Jason and I had normal?

--

Mitchie's POV

"Gross," I muttered before lying my head on my arms in front of me. Shane was lying next to me and he was fidgeting irritably. "This grass is so—" I shot him a look that could stop our gym teacher in his tracks, which was pretty impressive since Mr. Jenkins was rumored to be King Kong's long lost cousin. Shane muttered something incoherent under his breath as he rubbed his arms.

"It was your brilliant idea to come here, Mr. Popstar," I scoffed. "For a guy you're pretty girly." I teased him, watching as his face grew red with embarrassment. "I was only caring for him!" he argued back. I scoffed loudly, shaking my head. "_Spying _is not a valid excuse. _Especially _when you're a guy."

Shane pouted at me, sticking his lower lip out. "That is so unfair." I rolled my eyes and shoved the big black binoculars I was holding to Shane. After I had managed to stop Nate from tearing Shane to shreds, all of us had separated. Tami and Jason went off, Mary and Nate, and then me and Shane.

Of course my _darling _Shane here—please note that I'm being sarcastic—just _had _to drag me to the basement to battle cobwebs and new breeds of spiders and whatnot. To get a pair of binoculars. Which were so old that the lenses itself seemed to be cracking and browning from age. And then Shane dragged me out of the house and pushed me up on top of this ridiculously random hill out of nowhere.

To—and get this—_spy._

_The _Shane Gray, was spying. I guess I didn't get the memo that the world was turning all topsy turvy on me, but yes he was spying. And he was _enjoying _it. Scratch that. The world wasn't going topsy turvy. It was spinning off its axis.

Shane grabbed the binoculars from me with a sneaky grin. "What's so gross anyway?" He asked before slowly putting the binoculars to his eyes and leaning forward to peek over the edge. In a split second he had thrown the binoculars at me. "Ow!" I shrieked. "What'd you do that for?" Shane let out a low whistle.

He was blushing. Hah! I'm dating a softie.

"Jason's first kiss." He blushed some more. Oh forget softy. I'm dating Barney. "And I invaded his privacy. Man, do I feel guilty." I grinned at him as I slowly sat up. "I told you. I _told _you. _Listen _to the girlfriend, I say. But _no, _you don't."

By this time, Shane had sat up too. The sun was going to set in another one or two hours, but it cast this delicious, marigold yellow over the hill. It wasn't the kind of killer sunlight you get at 12 noon. This was a gentle yellow light, and it was warming and beautiful. Especially when it reflected off Shane's hair and glittered in his eyes.

Awkward. I had lost my power of speech. Shane was staring at me with his ridiculous smirk he always wore. The one that said I'm-Shane-Gray-you-know-you-gotta-love-me. I made a mental note to teach him how to discard that smirk from his box of facial expressions.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked playfully. I cleared my throat and quickly turned away from him. When I had formed a sentence in my head, I quickly looked at Shane and stuck my tongue out at him. "Last I checked my tongue was still here." I waggled it for proof. Shane just rolled his eyes at me and reached over to grab the binoculars, bringing it to his eyes hurriedly as he peeked through the bush.

I shot him a disgusted face. He just couldn't wait to spy on the two lovebirds making out. "Pervert!" I reached over to grab the binoculars, my hands lunging wildly for them. Shane shouted and just as I brushed the binoculars, Shane dropped it and it rolled down the hill. We froze, staring at the place where the binoculars had rolled down.

As the seconds ticked by, we suddenly realized we had just revealed our hiding place. Oh perfect. Real smart Shane. _Real _smart. We exchanged quick nervous glances at each other before diving into the dirt and crawling away just as we heard Tami's shrill voice and Jason's irritated shriek,

"I'm going to _kill _you!"

-

Tess's POV

"Hurry up. I don't have all day!" I sighed loudly and clicked my tongue impatiently. Who did these people think they were? Me? _Obviously _not. Seriously, could they load any _slower? _I watched angrily as one of the butlers tripped over his own feet and my _make-up _bag (girly essential, as stated in this month's issue of Cosmo girl) went flying. I shrieked raising my perfectly manicured fingers in the air.

"Hurry up! And be _careful _geek!" With a gleeful grin—I just loved being above everyone else—I spun on my stiletto heels to face Bianca and Breah. Ah, my other geek quartet. Or what was the word for two people? Oh forget it, I was going to be a famous singer. I didn't need super science. Or rocket science. Or… whatever.

I flipped open my phone screen and glared at the screen. 11:00am? I rolled my eyes and checked my face in the reflection of the screen. We would be there by… say… well I don't know. I got the dorkazoids to do my math homework. So my calculation was well, yeah. Seriously, I couldn't care more. Or was it less?

I just rolled my eyes again and looked at them through my thick Gucci glasses. "You sure they're at that beach place?" Both of them nodded vigorously. I quickly applied lip gloss to my dry lips just as the last butler put my luggage in the back and shut it close.

I strode—cat walk style of course—to my car door and gingerly pulled it open. I winked at the quartet… two people… thing… people. "We can still catch them in time then." They scrambled into the back of the car after me and I took off.

Beach road was it? With a smirk I pushed my sunglassesback to rest on my head as I let the wind flip my hair around.

Watch out Mary. Here I come.

**Well that's it. Please review. It keeps my world spinning (: thanks for all the reviews so far. When I joined fanfiction I didn't expect all of **_**this. **_**And I wont be leaving fanfiction anytime soon. **

**Be back as soon as I can. Till then, please review!**

**Love  
CauseImFearless (:**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys (: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in light years. And if you've forgotten this story and never want to forgive me I understand! Things have been so hectic. Ugh. Okay im so sorry I rushed out this chapter. Its really my worse, but I needed to get this story moving. I hope your not mad, and continue to read(: thanks to the people that have stuck me with thus far : zash236 for reviewing (thanks, im sorry this chapter isn't really dramatic.) James N Lily R in LOVE for reviewing (haha glad you liked it (: ) utmy123 for reviewing (thank you (: im glad my mushy scene was well received) elisabeth2me for reviewing (your awesome, thanks :D) evershort for reviewing (youll find out what tess is up to soon (: ) mickeyhagg for reviewing (thanks for wishing me happy 14****th**** (: I hope youll cont. reading) A forgotton fairy. .-aka fairy for reviewing (haha glad you liked it) dancinggirl42609 for reviewing (I'll check your stories out soon, promise!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (your review was awesome. You always know what to say to make me smile (: ) Nani Hanani 03 for reviewing (haha k) Jocelyn Jonas for faving, williamswheelbarrel for alerting and reviewing… 13 times. (you are crazy! I was so shocked when I found out you reviewed so many times. Im going to rmb you for a long time (; ) crazy guard girl for alerting , yams14 for alerting, permanently scarred for alerting, akhello for reviewing( im glad it wow-ed you :D) PrincesswillVandom for faving, Pandy the Dandy for alerting, Team M for alerting, faving and reviewing (aw thanks so much), malec946 for faving, twilightlover13 for faving and reviewing (thank you! (: ), liepsnos (I don't get what you mean by 'oh god yet another Cinderella story?') xXxLatzxXx for reviewing (thanks, means a lot! :D) islanzadi1995 for faving and reviewing (thanks a lot!) monstergirl245 for faving, xiSMILE for faving, catcatrox for faving, fringgal for reviewing (thanks, im sorry If I get too drama ): ) letitri for alerting**

**That's it. You guys are amazing. Im sorry if this chapter isn't awesome. Its mainly filler. I promise ill work harder to get a new one up for you guys. Please don't forget me or this story! You've made me too happy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or Another Cinderella Story or Crazier **

Chapter 21:

Nate's POV

-

I closed my eyes and leaned my head gently on top of Mary's, which was lying comfortably in the crook of my neck. I glanced at Shane who was sitting on the two-seater recliner across the room. Mitchie was curled up next to him, her arm thrown lazily across his chest, with his arm wrapped around her back. Shane smirked at me and mouthed, _didn't you wish you were me? _I made a gagging motion at him and looked at Jason. Jason and Tami had opted to sitting on the floor, and Tami was fast asleep, her head lying on Jason's lap, her legs sprawled out underneath a thick blue blanket we had found in the spare bedroom.

It seemed like only the guys were awake, and all the girls had fallen asleep. We had popped in a horror movie just half an hour before. Shane had been anticipating Mitchie to jump into his lap screaming, and he would come and 'protect' her from whatever monster was coming her way.

Of course none of that happened. The girls didn't seem so much as fazed and slowly, they drifted off to sleep. Brilliant plan, Shane. Brilliant. Well he wasn't complaining. He was the one who had Mitchie sprawled all over him.

With a sigh, I reached out and grabbed the remote controller, turning the T.V off midway through the movie. I slowly slid my hands under Mary, and carefully lifted her off the couch. Her head lolled until it rested against my chest. "You coming?" I asked Shane and Jason. Both of them shrugged. "Later." Shane said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Pervert." I rolled my eyes and slowly made for the stairs.

Mary and I had spent the whole day today in the recording studio that we had built into the beach house. Mary had refused to sing for me the whole time. But I was going to hear her voice one day. In the end, I just ended up teaching her how to operate the studio. Maybe she was going to be a music producer someday. She seemed so interested in everything I taught her. Hey, I wouldn't even mind if she became my music producer. With Mary, I doubted anything could go wrong.

Finally, I made it to the third landing (the second landing was the whole studio and the video game area) and went into the spare room across from mine. Tami's and Mitchie's were opposite Jason's and Shane's. Mary's room was painted with a light aqua blue with white furniture and a few light yellow beanbags in the corner with a guitar.

I gently lowered Mary onto the bed in the middle of the room. She groaned and shifted a bit before finally settling down. Biting my lip, trying not to make a noise, I slowly lifted the blanket from under her and draped it over her small frame.

"Good night, Mary." I whispered. Quickly, I leaned down and kissed her forehead, before leaving the room. With an exasperated sigh, I closed the door behind me.

There was something about Mary these days… and I couldn't place my finger on this feeling she gave me.

--

Mary's POV

"Mary?"

I looked up from my plate of pancakes to meet Nate's brown eyes. "I'm sorry… I blanked out. Yeah?" Nate grinned at me and set his plate next to mine. I waited as he pulled out his chair, feeling his body warmth slowly fill the air around me. "Did you enjoy your first day yesterday?" I grinned, remembering the stories that Shane had told during dinner, and the horror movie that really wasn't even close to scary. "I had the most amazing time."

"Good. " Nate smiled. "Anyway, the guys and I got a call from our manager this morning. He needs to meet us down at the recording studio today during the afternoon. So we'll be gone until around 5. Are you girls okay to be alone?"

I shoved a piece of pancake in my mouth and chewed slowly. Alone, in this gorgeous house? Without the guys? With a recording studio on the second floor? I smiled to myself. "Don't worry Nate. We'll be more than okay."

--

Mitchie's POV

The day was beautiful. It was slightly cloudy, but with this terrific sun. Perfect for a tan. But of course, Mary had Tami and I _inside _the house, where the sun couldn't touch us. And therefore, I couldn't get a tan.

"I don't even know how to operate a studio!" I groaned loudly. Mary was sitting on the sofa behind me, her legs curled underneath her as she fingered the paper in her hands. "Liar. You recorded that song remember? Last year?"

I crossed my arms angrily and turned to face Tami, who was sitting in the chair next to me. "She isn't playing fair. She's robbing me of a tan." Tami rolled her eyes. "Let her record one song. Just one!" She said, before lying back in her chair and closing her eyes to sleep again.

I groaned. Mary was taking full advantage that the guys weren't around and couldn't hear her sing. Though I could never understood why she only let the two of us—Tami and me- listen. Her voice was one of the purest, gentlest, voices I had ever heard. But if I told her, she'd just tell me I'm complimenting her because I'm her best friend. It's what we do.

Even if it was true. Ugh, but that was Mary for you. I reached over and grabbed the paper from her hands and scanned the page. "You wrote this?" I asked, impressed. The lyrics were good. Really good. "And you never told us?" I fingered the paper, imagining the tune Mary had written down with it. She scratched her head shyly. "It's really… bad." I shook my head.

"No, no. If anything, it's amazing. Now get in there!" I pulled her off the couch and shoved her in the studio. Seriously. That girl was so shy with everyone that she always needed a little push. I beckoned at her to put on the headphones.

She sighed and brushed the hair out of her eyes and picked up a brown guitar in the corner of the studio. It was one of the things that Mary and I had in common. Our love for the guitar. It was kind of how we had connected as best friends. But I guess Mary's love for it ran deeper than mine. It was her father who had taught her how to play it. Now, the guitar was the only thing that helped Mary feel connected to him.

I smiled inwardly as she sat on the chair. It'd been so long since I had seen Mary step up to anything. I thought after Domifreak she had lost who she had originally been. But here she was, emerging again.

I watched as she took a deep breath. Here we go Mary. Do Tami and me proud.

_I've never gone with the wind  
Just let it flow  
Let it take me where it wants to go  
Til' you opened the door  
There's so much more  
I'd never seen it before  
I was tryin' to fly but I couldn't find wings  
But you came along and changed everything_

You lift my feet off the ground  
And spin me around  
You make me crazier, crazier  
Feels like i'm falling and I  
I'm lost in your eyes  
You make me Crazier, Crazier, Crazier

I watched from a distance as you  
Made life your own  
Every sky was your own kind of blue  
And I wanted to know how that would feel  
And you made it so real  
You showed me something that I couldn't ee  
You opened my eyes and you made me belive

You lift my my feet off the ground  
And spin me around  
You make me crazier crazier  
Feels like i'm falling and I  
I'm lost in your eyes  
You make me crazier crazier crazier

Ohhhh

Baby you showed me what livin' is for  
I don't wanna hide anymore  
Oh Ohh

You lift my feet off the ground  
And spin me around  
You make me crazier crazier  
Feels like i'm fallin and I  
I'm lost in your eyes  
You make me crazier crazier crazier  
Crazier Crazier

When the song ended the whole room was silent. Tami and I just sat there, listening to the strains of the guitar fade away. "That bad, huh." Mary said dejectedly, placing the guitar back on the stand and making her way out of the studio. "I shouldn't have tried."

I shook my head violently as Tami jumped up excitedly. "Are you mad? That song was amazing! I—I never knew you could sing and write like Mitchie! Wow. I just… wow. Mary! That was so…" Tami breathed in.

"Special."

Mary blinked at her. Then at me. "Really? You really think so?" I nodded. "Definitely. Playback?" And without even waiting for a reply, I hit play on the control board.

We listened quietly as the sound of the guitar filled the room and eventually Mary's voice. It rang through the whole empty space, and the three of us sat there, mesmerized. "It's for Nate, isn't it?" I asked when the music stopped.

Mary didn't even have to answer. The violent blush in her cheeks said it all. "I just… I couldn't put what I felt into words you know? So I just… tried a song and it all came out." Tami slammed the control panel.

"It all came out pretty darn good." I laughed. "You're such a drama queen Tam. Anyway… so. We've been meaning to ask you Mary. Winter Formals' next week. Are you asking Nate?" Mary choked. "I'm sorry what?"

"Winter formal!" Tami said excitedly. "You forgot! How could you! It's like. The most important prom of the year. Minus the other one… but the point is. The winter formal!" I nodded vigorously. How could Mary had forgotten something so important? "It's this Friday!"

"Ask him!" I added. "Play this song for him. It totally says it all. And if the song doesn't make him fall for you, I don't what will." I reached over and grabbed an empty disk from the table and popped it into the disk burner. We sat in silence as the CD was burned. Tami was tapping her fingers on the board, probably wondering about what we'd wear, I was wondering what Mary would do… and Mary was thinking about Nate.

When the CD was done I grabbed it and pressed it into Mary's hand without hesitation. "Ask him tonight, okay? We're rooting for you Mary." And without a reply, I got up and left the room with Tami.

I mean. Someone needs to give Mary a little push now and then right?

**Yup. I hope some of you will want to continue to read more after my long absence. Please, please review. It's what makes me know what I'm doing isn't entirely wrong. And I'll also know if you hate me for staying away for so long. ):**

**REVIEW PLEASE!!**

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**P.S if you have time, please check out my other story, Where I stood. It's a Nalex thing too (: please review! Love you guys!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Go ahead, please. Tell me I'm the worst person ever. I need a title for being the slowest updater. I AM SO SORRY! Ive had writers block, and I just wrote this out real quickly two days ago, and I don't have time to edit. ): IM SORRY IF ITS SO BAD IT MAKES YOU WANT TO NEVER COME BACK TO THIS STORY AGAIN. And I'm so sorry, I don't have time to do individual thank yous this chapter. But all of you who reviews/favorited/alerted thank you SO MUCH. When you press that button, you just made a difference in my life (: you guys are so important to me for the things you say and encouragement you give me. When all else in life sucks, I shall turn to you guys. Haha okay well on with the story. Its kinda rushed, im sorry): hopefully itll be enough to last until chapter 23 (:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock **

Chapter 22:

Alex POV

"Mitchie, I can't do this!" I said for the fifteenth time that minute and stalked towards the staircase. But Jason and Shane were there, blocking my escape. "Come on, Mary! You'd been at this for half an hour!" Shane whined. "Nate won't eat you! I promise." I frowned and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Hormonal girl feelings Shane. You wouldn't understand." I said hastily, trying to push my way through the two of them. "Not so fast!" Tami and Mitchie whisper yelled and pulled me backwards.

"It's going to rain!" I pleaded desperately. "The thunder would be so loud I'd have to ask him out shouting. I can't do that!" Mitchie laughed. "I'm sure you'll manage."

" I hate friends who care." I muttered to them. "Good to know." Tami smiled sweetly and stopped me outside Nate's door. "Go on Mary." She said encouragingly. Mitchie winked at me and grabbed Tami's hand, heading for the staircase and leaving me standing in the hall alone.

"We'll be downstairs!" She squealed excitedly and all four of them disappeared from sight. The way they acted, it was as if they were the ones asking someone to be their date for the dance, not me. Was it normal for girls to ask guys anyway?

I clutched onto the CD nervously. Well, Mary. Never know unless you try. I mean, this_ is_ Nate. The one guy you've ever met who made you_ feel_ something. He's something special. He protects you. He likes you even if you have nothing. I breathed in. The sound of thunder outside the window shocked me and I jumped. Suck it up, Mary. Nate's worth this.

Slowly, a grin spread across my face. You can do this. And with a shaking hand I turned the doorknob.

His bedroom seemed empty. Strange, Shane had told me Nate was in his bedroom. I walked in cautiously and closed the door quietly behind me. "Nate?" I asked. I heard some noises coming in from the bathroom and felt myself violently blush. Don't tell me he was showering! But then, I heard some rustling movement from the bed and turned my head. There was Nate, in his bed, and he was sitting up, staring confused at me.

"Mary?" I gripped my CD nervously. If he was on his bed… then who was in the bathroom? I didn't have time to ponder much, since the door opened and I jumped back.

"Oh, Nate, I thought you said everyone else went out!" A shrill voice exclaimed.

"Tess?" I whispered, my voice cracking. What was _Tess Tyler _doing in Nate's bathroom, wearing a _bath robe_ of all things? I stumbled backwards against the door and turned to Nate, confusion on my face. "Nate?" I whispered. "What's she doing here?" Nate seemed as shocked as I was. Good acting, I thought to myself bitterly.

"I have no idea. How the heck did you get in here, Tess?" Nate asked angrily. Tess blinked innocently. "You invited me Natey." And then she daintily hopped on the bed and wrapped her arms around Nate's neck.

Tears were already falling down my face. This couldn't be happening. Everything couldn't have been a lie. It couldn't have been a lie! I clutched at my chest desperately, feeling a pain there that seemed to burst inside me. The CD in my hand felt like it was melting. I was such an idiot.

Nate pulled away from Tess's grasp. "Mary! This isn't what it—"

"Looks like." I whispered through my tears. "I know." I turned around and flung the door open, the light from the bedroom filtering out into the dark hall.

"Mary!" Nate called, and I could hear his footsteps on the carpet following after me. But I didn't turn back. I wanted to so bad. But I couldn't. He'd trick me again. I rubbed my tears away and hurried down the stairs, the sound of his footsteps growing louder.

My heart was beating so fast against my ribcage. "Don't let him catch me!" I screamed at Mitchie, Tami, Shane and Jason as I ran past them. "Mary? Mary! What happened?" And soon Mitchie and Tami were up on their feet, chasing after me.

I turned for a brief moment and saw all five of them following. I ignored them all, I couldn't deal with seeing anyone right now, and ran to the front door, pulling it open and rushing into the rain. It felt so good to be out of the house, letting the rain mix with my tears.

I shouted as I ran away from the house, running to nowhere. I didn't know where I was headed—I just needed to get away from Nate. And just like that, when the mere thought of him entered my mind, I stopped running.

My clothes were now soaked through to my skin, and my hair stuck to my face as the rain pelted down on me. I was still clutching the CD for dear life. Slowly, with a shaking hand, I reached up and pressed down on my chest where my heart was still beating erratically.

And soon I was jerking violently with sobs. I didn't understand this. I had barely even known Nate for two weeks. Then, why was this so painful? What was happening to me? I couldn't breathe right. What was this? I hadn't felt this heartbroken since my parents died.

I dropped to the sidewalk, bringing my legs to my chest. "Why?" I shouted into the rain, my voice lost in the rumble of the thunder. "Why does it hurt so much?" I yelled. "Somebody help me!" I screamed. But it was useless. No one would ever want to help me, except Mtichie and Tami. I was just the charity case. Just a fling.

I sat there for a while, just shaking, letting the water roll down my skin. Finally, I heard footsteps running towards me and soon, Tami and Mitchie had come, bringing a large umbrella that towered over the three of us.

"Mary! Thank god! Do you know how late it is? And there's thunder. We've got to get you back." Tami said, supporting my shoulder as she and Mitchie pulled me up. When I was finally standing, I nearly collapsed on them both. "I don't want to go back." I whispered.

"Mary! Don't be difficult." Mitchie said, struggling to balance me and the umbrella. I looked at Mitchie and Tami, and realized they were both getting wet too. I was such an idiot, dragging them both into this mess.

Ignoring the searing pain in my chest, I slowly let them lead me to the house. When we reached, Nate was standing in the driveway, soaked to his skin too. When he caught sight of me he immediately rushed forward. "Mary, are you okay—"

"Don't touch me!" I said and stumbled backwards. "I don't know why I like you so much." I shouted at his face, wincing at his pained expression. "And I don't know why this hurts so much because it shouldn't!" I screamed again, my voice cracking.

Nate reached his arms out to me. "Mary, I had nothing to do with it! I swear, Tess planned it all and—" I scoffed. "So she just broke into your room?" Nate nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

I shook my head sadly. "I can't believe you'd lie like that." I took one more glance at his face, now twisted with sadness and anger. "Mary, just listen. Give me five minutes!" But I couldn't. I didn't want any more lies. There was only so much hurt I could take before I broke.

I climbed into Tami's truck silently, Tami and Mitchie following me. I ignored Nate, who was pounding on the window, desperately trying to open the passenger door I had locked. "Drive, please." I whispered, before breaking out into tears. Tami pulled away while Mitchie engulfed me in a hug.

"It's going to be alright, dear. Just let it out."

But it wasn't going to be okay. I could feel myself breaking already. Just… falling apart.

And the only one who could piece me back together was far behind me, standing in the driveway as I disappeared.

**This chapter was one of the shortest yet, but I thought I owed you guys a bit ): im sorry the most dramatic chapter was written the worst ): Im so sorry, but writers block was killing me and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. **

**Tell me how you feel about it please. You all know how I feel about reviews by now (: **

**Love  
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	23. Chapter 23

**How do you explain how incredibly sorry I am? Because I am so, so sorry for not updating in like years. I think I owe you guys an explanation so here goes. A few months ago I lost someone who was very close and very very dear to me. I was really upset and I tried to move on. But I couldn't forgive myself for some things. And even after I was able to move on, I found I couldn't do things I enjoyed anymore, or at least do it as well I used to. So I stopped writing altogether. This chapter is my first attempt in like 2-3 months to write something that doesn't make you cringe. So I'm sorry for not writing and I know this chapter is probably the worst because I still haven't been able to go back to normal yet. But this is to tide us over first so I'm sorry for coming back with something so… bad. I hope youll forgive me and I will try harder. Thank you to everyone who has favourited and reviewed etc. Im sorry I cant do personal shout outs now but EVERYONE thank you so much for reading this story and Your reviews and support are what encourage me to continue. Thank you and sorry for this crappy chapter :/**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Another Cinderella Story. **

Chapter 23:

Alex POV

"You have to get out of there eventually! Cleaning Dominique's house to perfection isn't going to solve anything!" Mitchie shouted impatiently through the window. I stood up straight and turned around, leaning on my broom. There, standing in the front window of the house was Mitchie and Tami, the two of them with their hands on their hips, both of them trying to stare me down.

I shrugged. "Sorry guys, but if I talk on the job I may not get the cleaning done." Then I marched over and drew the blinds on them. Just like I'd done every day for the past week, whenever the two of them came by. I felt bad for doing it, I did. But I needed privacy. Closure. I don't know. I just needed to be alone.

The two of them obviously didn't get the message.

With a sigh I turned around and started to sweep again. "Look Mary. You're worrying us sick. I know you want to be alone but. Are we really going to let a boy get in between us? Really? I'm sorry about what Nick did. _We're _sorry. But if you keep wallowing in self pity, wouldn't that just make Nate feel on top of the world? Like your life centered around him or something? We don't want him to think that, do we? Come out Mary. Please?"

I focused on sweeping, biting my lip. Tami sure knew how to deliver a speech. With a frustrated grown I stopped and leaned on the broom. She was right. Since when did Mary Santiago wallow in self pity? _Since forever. _A tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered to me.

I brushed my hair out of my face. Not any more then. Nate's just a guy. I've had worse things happen before. Outside were two of my best friends, who were willing to go through everything with me. And they were the two people on the world that I was treating the worst right now.

Quickly, I spun on my heel and headed to the front door, relishing in the sound of the broom banging down hard on the marble floor.

Good bye old Mary.

--

Mitchie's POV

"So, I was thinking like. A red hot dress for you. And the two of us will both wear white. We'll be like. I don't know. Some human Santa clause hat." Tami said excitedly, and I nodded in agreement. The three of us were currently sitting on Mary's bed, listening to Mary's song play softly in the background.

"Guys, I said I was over it, but I didn't say I was going to winter formal." Mary said, crossing her arms over her chest and shooting us cynical glares. I sighed loudly. "Oh come on. Winter Formal is the _best time_ to get over Nate. You have to show him what he totally skipped out on. You'll totally show up Tess." I said, bouncing up and down on her bed excitedly.

Mary flopped back on her bed and threw her arms up in the air. "Best time, I think _not. _It's a Winter Formal _Masquerade_ Ball, guys. _Masquerade. _He wouldn't recognize me in a mask even if I were to go up to him and shout at him in the ear. No. No. I'm not going."

I felt some movement beside me and suddenly Tami was on her knees and throwing pillows at Mary. "Yes you are! I made the dresses already so you're going!" I laughed loudly and joined in, grabbing what pillows there were left and pummeling Mary with it.

"Okay, alright! I'll go if you stop attacking me!" Mary shouted, her voiced strained to sound serious although we all knew she was laughing. Tami giggled and stopped, falling back next to Mary, and me next to Tami.

Who knew Tami was such a… go getter?

"The dance is like in 10 hours." I said suddenly, a wave of realization hitting me when I turned to look at Mary's clock. "We have to get going." Tami nodded. "We do. See you in a bit Mary!" Tami jumped up and enveloped Mary in a hug.

"Forget someone guys?" I asked, standing up and crossing my arms. The two of them smiled at me and opened up for me to join. "Group hug!" I shouted and laughed loudly. I'd never acted so gigglish before. But seeing Mary happier did have an effect on the two of us I realized. At least we didn't have to worry so much anymore.

"Um guys?" Mary said, her voice suddenly soft. Oh no. Don't tell me she's having Nate withdrawal again. "Yeah?" I asked suspiciously, squeezing Tami's shoulder lightly, as a warning for the two of us to get ready to pull Mary from her pity. Again.

"I saw that Mitchie." Mary said warningly. Then she pulled away from the group hug and walked slowly back to the bed, sitting on the edge and sighing. "We have a problem. Dominique's staying home tonight." Mary said sadly.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I exclaimed, and started to pace up and down. A habit that I never was able to stop, sadly. "Calm down Mitch." Tami said, and I detected a smile in the way she spoke. How could she be happy at this point in time? Our plan to help Mary had just crashed and burned in record timing.

"Relax, Sherlock." Tami smirked. "I've got it covered." In a flash her phone was in her hand and Tami was punching in numbers.

She mouthed a silent 'bye' to Mary and smiled. Then, she grabbed my wrist and led me out of Mary's room, her other hand pressing her phone to her ear.

"Hi. This is Tami. Can I speak to my dad please?"

--

Mary POV

I couldn't believe this. I couldn't believe this! How could I have let Tami and Mitchie convince me to go to Winter Formal tonight! I wasn't ready to face Nate yet. Oh sure, Masquerade ball. He probably wouldn't recognize me. But still. I've had bad luck for the past week and I wasn't counting on my luck improving any time soon.

I mumbled angrily to myself as I mopped the floor. I was tired. So tired. My legs were sore from standing up for so long doing chores, and mentally I was exhausted. What was I thinking, agreeing to go to the dance?

Step one to a 'newer Mary' wasn't doing so well apparently. With a huff I kicked off my maid shoes angrily, not caring if Dominique were to strode into the room. The new Mary was going to speak and defend for herself.

I smiled slightly to myself, enjoying the freedom my feet had now. The maid shoes were really good at pinching your feet in all the places where it'd hurt the most.

"Mary! Come here _now!" _ Dominique's shrill voice came over the intercom. I frowned. She always had perfect timing didn't she? I gently placed the broom down on the floor and hurriedly slid my feet into the shoes and ran to the living room.

Dominique was sitting on the pink furry couch, decked out in a bright neon yellow and green dress that hugged her body tightly. It flared out a bit at her ankle, with pink butterflies sewn onto the netting that spilled out from under the bottom of the dress.

"Yes, Dominique?" I asked as gently as I could, and curtsied slowly. I tried not to recoil at the sight of her dress. Honestly, has no one ever told her to get a new wardrobe before? I folded my hands behind my back, waiting patiently as Dominique twirled her glass of cocktail around.

"I got that call from that agent. What's-her-name's dad." Dominique started. _Tami. Her name's Tami. _I thought angrily, but clenching my hands into fists was all I could do to calm myself down. No fights Mary. No arguments.

"Anyway, he's called for me to meet him tonight so I won't be home. And of course my darling daughters will be at the dance so you'll be home alone tonight. Cleaning, I expect. And _no. You will not go to the dance." _She said happily, looking at me for the first time since I've entered the room.

"I'm done. Go." And she waved her hand airily, returning to her cocktail. I bit my lip and curtsied, before turning and hurrying out of the room. Mary Santiago was _so _going to the dance tonight.

Domifreak approval or not.

--

I smiled slightly in the dark and curtsied, watching as two limos pulled out of the driveway. Dominique's limo was the first to leave, followed by the ones with the twins, who were heading out early to go do their hair.

With a sigh I turned around and trudged back to my room to wait for Tami and Mitchie to come. If we could pull this off, I'd never doubt them again.

--

"Ah!" Tami squealed the minute I opened the door. Hiding a wince I ushered them into my room. "Hi to you too Tami." I laughed and hugged Mitchie as she came in. "Hi Sherlock." She smiled.

"Tami's plan was brilliant wasn't it." She grinned. "Who'd have guessed under all that hair was a brain!" She laughed and reached over to ruffle Tami's hair. "Watch the hair!" She shrieked. Mitchie shrugged and sat on my bed. "It's not like you've done your hair yet anyway." She said. "You should see the dresses Tami made. It's a wonder she isn't on Project Runway yet."

I laughed and closed my bedroom door behind me. "It's a wonder I'm still sane with the two of you for best friends." Mitchie laughed and threw a pillow at me. I expertly dodged it. Joining Mitchie on the bed I turned to face Tami.

"So, what have you got for us?"

**I'm sorry it's so short but I can't really concentrate much and I wanted to get this up ASAP. I'm sorry I know it's rushed and choppy at some points. Criticism and reviews is greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas (its kinda late, sorry) and happy new year! You've made 2009 a wonderful fanfiction year for me. And once again so sorry for not updating BUT.**

**I promise to update ASAP! Review please **** It really brightens my day!**

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